Chasidut su Salmi 19:78

2. Now the general rule for our subject is: there are aspects that are in order and not in order, which are the aspect of (Psalms 139:5), "you have formed me backward and forward”, the aspect of Adam and Eve, Aleph Bet and Tav-Shin-Resh-Kuf. Adam corresponds to YHVH spelled out with Alephs , which is numerically equivalent to 45, which is the aspect of order, corresponding to “before”, to Aleph Bet in a forward sequence. Eve is the aspect of speech, the aspect of “night to night will tell” (Psalms 19:3), the aspect of Malchut Peh, etc., the aspect of Tav-Shin-Kuf-Resh in a backward sequence, to, ”backward”, etc. This is as we see, that a person sometimes goes along not in order. This comes about from the aspect of 'not in order', as seen above, by the person having severed disorder from order. This blemish is caused mainly by haughtiness, as (one says) "I will rule", for in this way a person takes Eve-Malchut for himself and severs it from Hashem, and then it is not in its whole perfect state. This is because its main sustenance is from the Divine Name of מ"ה, which is the intellect, which is in the aspect of order. The perfection of all things is only when they are united and bound with Hashem, when they receive perfect sustenance from Him. Wholeness comes from the mind, etc., the aspect of Wisdom, כ"ח מ"ה (the power of Mah), as in "Wisdom sustains life" (Kohelet 7:12) and as in "What is our life, what is our strength, etc" (morning prayers), and מ"ה is (numerically) equivalent to Adam. Then, it contains wholeness, etc. This is, "G-d's is the earth and its bounty" (Ps. 24:1), and then, everything is in order for a person, since, "Wherever there is the masculine, the feminine is not mentioned". Zohar III, Chukat, 183b. Therefore Eve, disorder, becomes submerged and nullified into Adam, order. And the aspect of order is called Yud and Malchut is called Dalet - דלי"ת לֵית לָהּ מִגַּרְמָהּ כְּלוּם, which has nothing of its own. Zohar I 170a. Hashem draws the sustenance of Wisdom, represented by the Yud, into the Malchut, represented by Yud-Vav-Dalet. This is "You formed me backwards and forwards and placed your Kaf upon me"; Kaf not meaning hand, but the letter Kaf, which is the Yud-Vav-Dalet (the letter Yud spelled out), which in Gematria equals Kaf (20). When a person separates the Dalet for himself and draws sustenance from it, his life then becomes disordered, and things do not go for him "in order", for he is now being sustained by "disorder", by the Malchut-Eve, tav-shin-resh-kuf. And therefore when one sees that things are not going 'in order', you should know that you have become haughty and you feel 'I shall rule'. What should you do? Repent, humble yourself and return to the category of מ"ה, as is written, "We are Mah (nothing) (Ex. 16:7). Then Eve is restored to the aspect of Adam, to the aspect of Mah, and things are restored to order. The main time for this repentence is during the month of Elul. Study all of this there well.

A person who is clean of [material] desires, and efforts himself [in divine service] will surely experience a strong sense [of the divine] when he fulfills "the commandments of God are upright, bringing joy to one's heart (Psalms 19:9). And even though this [service] will result in the loss of wealth and other [material benefit], [it is worthwhile] since this is a mitzvah and God's mitzvah is dearer than one's own. But if he feels sorrow, it is a sign that it is not a mitzvah. And this is what the [sages] taught [regarding a debt after the seventh year] in Tractate Gittin [37b] "Rabbah said: [The creditor] may lift [his eyes] until the [debtor] says [nonetheless, I will pay you]." And afterwards, an episode of Rabbah is recounted where [his debtor did not repay and] he was saddened [as a result of his ruling to merely hint at repayment]. And it seems to me that based on this incident where he stood on a matter of Jewish law, that this commandment [to forgive loans in the seventh year] was a command relating to speech [that the creditor] will say "I fogive [the loan]" but this does not apply in practice [as he held that the creditor] will raise [his eyes]. Meaning, the command is not to actually forgive [the loan]. And therefore he was saddened. And even though Rabbah held himself to be a person of average quality [Berakhot 61b], that he still did not [attain the stature to] have his heart entirely hollowed inside him. Nevertheless, he knew in his soul that he was ready to listen to the advice of his good inclination and to overcome the evil inclination to perform the commandments of God with joy and not to be saddened by it, if it were a mitzvah. And this is only for the remnants whom God calls.

At the time of our service we may feel our souls running towards God, like the reunion of the father and the son mentioned above. He longs for his father day and night, seeking him, his heart melts, our soul melts as it is poured out before our father in Heaven. It is not only at the time we are involved in prayer and divine service that we feel that we are coming close to God, rather it were well to be so close at all times. If a person leads a humdrum existence, where his soul is, so to speak, buried away under the carpet, then his prayer and divine service will also be routine. If he does not constantly take care of his soul and desire God, then he will not find inspiration when he turns to pray or engage in any holy endeavor. All day he must be a Yehudi,¹⁰A “Yehudi,” is a holy, self-actualized Jew. striving to be close to God. At times more, and at times less, but he is always a Yehudi, and he will always be on the level of a son to God. All his actions may be imbued with soul to the point where even his thoughts are always pure and strong - connected to God’s sanctity. Then he will reach a level where the soul overpowers his senses. In our service, it is not enough to bar our senses from confusing and seducing our thoughts, saying to us, “you see the world, and you feel real physical senses,” but rather our senses shall be subdued before our thoughts. Then our senses will feel the sanctity of God spread over all existence, and man will know and see in his very life how he lives in God’s garden of Eden before the throne of His glory, may He be blessed. How else may we merit such a complete service unless we are drawn, even slightly, after God’s knowledge on the heels of the Prophets, Kabbalists, and Tsaddikim among the Hasidim! “Follow after the hoofprints of the flock!” (Shir HaShirim 1:8). At least we will see the footprints of their kedushah¹¹Kedushah = Holiness , and our wrestling will kick up the dust on the path of God.¹²A play on words, When Yaakov wrestled with the angel, the word for wrestling “misavek” is etymologically connected to the word for dust, “avak,” as if to say, when two people wrestle they kick up the dust with their movements. It is with this struggle that Yaakov received the name Israel, which has the connotation of, “one who wrestles with God.” Dust is also a symbol of meekness, as Abraham said, “What am I but dust and ashes.” So when one subdues himself before the great spiritual masters of Israel and struggles to follow their ways, he is then truly on the way to a complete service of God which transforms his consciousness to one of feeling the Divine presence in all walks of his life. Then the path and the sensation of God’s presence will truly be internalized. Now we need to examine the great reward reserved for this holy enterprise,¹³Again multiple meanings are implied in the author’s word choice. “Mahu Ekev” could be, “what is the purpose (what are the ends),” “what is the reward,” and even, “what is the heel” (reminiscent of the heels of the wrestlers, as well as Yaakov, who was holding onto his brother Eisav’s heel as he emerged after him at birth.) There are abundant homiletical explanations for the word, “ekev,” in Chasidic writings. See Psalm 19:12, “in keeping them is a great reward.” and the proper training that the aspiring young man who yearns to be a Chasid¹⁴A Hasid, literally “pious one,” loosely means someone who is a member of a community of Orthodox Jews which espouses the practices and flavor of the Divine service upheld and taught by the Baal Shem Tov and his students. must undergo in order to achieve this goal.

Tzaddik yesod olam (Prov. 10:25) is the verse that teaches that the tzaddik is the foundation of the world. The physical world that we see is sustained by the spiritual gifts and flows of blessing that God continually pours into it. This shefa eloki—divine abundance of good—comes through the purest human soul, the tzaddik. The tzaddik loves every Jew and all of God’s creatures with thoroughly dedicated affection.⁷⁷The Maharal (Rabbi Yehudah Loew of Prague, 1512-1609, a great Kabbalist, philosopher, and educator) in his commentary to the Aggadah explains that a Jewish leader such as the High Priest is the heart of the nation. All limbs are connected to the heart and receive their life from it, and all Jews are attached to the tzaddik and are nourished through him (Makkos 11a). “The tzaddik, the leader and shepherd of Israel, is the very heart of the people of Israel” (Chasidic Dimensions, pg. 115, quoting Tikkunei Zohar 21:50b).
The tzaddikim of all times share the common denominator of absolute attachment, commitment, and devotion to God, Torah and Israel. As such they follow and share in the qualities of the first and greatest leader and shepherd of Israel: Moses. In fact, they are regarded as extensions and reflections of Moses. Thus it is said that there is not a generation without a leader like Moses. This is not simply in terms of an analogy, but in a quite real sense: an extension and emanation of Moses exists in every generation, in every tzaddik….
This Moses-aspect goes further: Moses had a neshamah kelalit, a comprehensive soul. His soul was a root-soul which compounded all the souls of his generation: they were all rooted in his soul. Thus it is also with the tzaddikim-leaders of every generation: they, too, are comprehensive root-souls compounding the souls of their respective generations. In this sense they are the leaders and the shepherds of their generations in every respect that Moses was in his. For the head of the generation is the whole of that generation (Chasidic Dimensions, pgs. 101-102).
The tzaddik’s overwhelming love for creation leads him to be gentle to all. As a result, even when rebuking sinners he will express his displeasure in muted terms:
I remember that they once related to my father, of blessed memory, that when our great master, Rabbi Ahron Rokeach of Belz, may his merit protect us, was in Munkatch policemen came to arrest him. These evildoers beat him, pushed him, and treated him so roughly that he could not stand their evil, and he said, “They are slightly strange, these Goyim.” This was already a very harsh critique for his standards. I remember when they related this to my father he smiled slightly. This is the way of tzaddikim, they are good to all (Rabbi Yekutiel Yehudah Halberstam [1905-1994], the Rebbe of Tzanz-Klausenberg, in his book Imros Tzaddikim, pg. 22, Story 5). His love of existence connects all of creation to the tzaddik, and they receive their life through him.⁷⁸See Tanya, Chapter 2. Even the sinners are connected to the tzaddik, and they benefit from him. The Almighty will periodically cause the tzaddik to sin, so that he can fall to the realm of sinners, connect with them, and then mystically elevate their souls with his subsequent return and elevation.
The Rebbe of Klausenberg explained that the tzaddik loves his nation; that is why his personal penances for his own misdeeds are performed for the sake of all the sinners in the nation, and thousands of souls are uplifted in a hidden and mystical manner through his personal improvement.
The true path of the Baal Shem Tov and his disciples was that they would perfect themselves first before they would pass judgment on others. When the Baal Shem isolated himself in the Carpathian Mountains, he rolled in the snow to atone for his misdeeds, and he broke the frozen ice atop the river in order to immerse himself in the waters beneath the ice. During those moments tens of thousands of Jews felt the removal of the foreskins covering their hearts and remembered their Maker. This is the meaning of the verse, “There is no speech and there are no words; their sound is unheard” (Ps. 19:4) and despite that, “Their line goes forth throughout the earth, and their word reaches the farthest ends of the land” (v. 5). In this manner the Baal Shem’s students made thousands of returnees to the faith. The masters R. Elimelech of Lizhensk (1717-1786) and Rabbi Aharon of Karlin (1736-1772) brought eighty thousand Jews back to observance. They accomplished this through the maxim of Hillel, “Love the creations and bring them closer to Torah.” They loved all. They knew to defend and find merit in the behavior of Jews, and they accepted all guilt upon themselves. As Rabbi Yishmael stated in the Mishnah, “Children of Israel, I am your atonement.” Through fixing their own internal minute flaws, they caused the entire world to be filled with a spirit of teshuvah, return to God (Imros Tzaddikim, pg. 23-24).
Our forefather Abraham brought people to observance through meeting them and impressing upon them the truth of monotheism. Our forefather Isaac was very restricted; he did not venture forth into human society, yet he too brought thousands of strangers under the rubric of observance. Isaac’s influence was affected in the tzaddik mode. When he learned Torah, or improved himself, these acts caused thousands of others to move closer to monotheistic belief and practice (Rav Wolfson).
Even as the tzaddik is the channel for the Divine effluences to the world in general, so he is also an intermediary for the people of his generation to ascend to Divinity.
A common denominator establishes a relationship. On the spiritual level, any commonality, even if limited to a single aspect, already establishes an inherent oneness. When joining different parts of water they become one for every species attaches itself to its own kind. So, too, the tzaddik is unified with those who became sanctified through his holiness and is able to raise them along with him. Moreover, as he is the comprehensive soul of his generation, he can elevate all and everything that is rooted in his soul. By means of his own good deeds and service of G-d he can elevate even the souls of the wicked.
In this context, the tzaddik will sometimes appear involved with mun-dane affairs. He is seen engaging in mundane speech or the telling of seemingly inconsequential stories, or otherwise dealing with the masses on their own level. This behavior would seem incompatible with his sub-lime status. Externally he appears to have lowered and degraded himself, to have stepped aside from his attachment to G-d. In truth, however, he is and remains in a constant state of deveikus [attachment to God] in all he does. His anomalous behavior is but for the establishing of a relation-ship with the simple and the lowly. Thus he is able to raise them to higher levels (Chasidic Dimensions, pgs. 109-110).
R. Aryeh Leib, the author of Aryeh de-Bei Ila’ah, once said,
When I was a young man I thought that I would lead the entire world to a path of holiness. As the years went by I realized, I cannot change the entire world, but I thought that at least I will change my entire hometown. Eventually I saw that this too was unattainable so I decided that I will correct my entire family. Now in my old age I say, “I wish and hope that I will be able to fix myself.” I believe that the meaning of this saying was that in his older years he recognized that when he learns Torah in holiness and purity he does not need to seek out sinners and impress upon them to return to observance, the holiness that shines in the world from his Torah will accomplish that job for him (Imros Tzaddikim, pg. 32).

All the rebbe’s thought, will, nobility and inner work effects his hasidim, while all their yearning, even one’s bitterness over his lack of desire [to improve and ascend from his] lowliness, affects the rebbe.³⁹⁵In this rather dense passage, R. Shapiro draws an analogy between the inner dynamics of the sefirot and the dynamic between rebbe and hasid. To summarize simply and succinctly: In the former case, the lower six sefirot cannot receive overflow of light from the higher ‘intellectual’ sefirot, nor can Tiferet bestow light onto the five sefirot dependent on her, unless they are near and united to one another. So too the rebbe cannot bestow nor receive light to and from his hasidim unless they are all united and near to one another. Hence the necessity of the rebbe and hasidim gathering together, for their mutual benefit. I thank James Jacobson-Maisels for his assistance in decoding this passage. All this occurs ‘without speech or words.’³⁹⁶See Psalm 19:3.

He will not realize that regarding the early tzaddikim, who were truly able to purify and cleanse souls in such a lofty manner that we have no grasp, the hasidim came to listen and stayed by their rebbe for some time.⁴⁹³In other words, he is forgetting the ‘student’s obligation’ to invest in his own spiritual growth. And, if they were not able to stay for a long duration, they did come more regularly. All their desire was focused on receiving even one thing, even a movement or hint from their rebbe. They inclined their hearts to receive the light and holiness which the rebbe would send directly into their hearts without words nor speech.⁴⁹⁴See Psalms 19:4. Nor will he consider [the difference between] how the hasid traveled then and how he does now, as mentioned above; and how we no longer have among us the holy sages, and how even they were different, some quick to learn and slow to forget, others slow to learn and quick to forget,⁴⁹⁵See Mishnah Avot 5:12.etc., and, how it is impossible to inspire one who travels so infrequently. Even would the rebbe gird all his strength for an entire Sabbath in order to cleanse him and remove his garments and raise up his troubled soul and revive it from its weariness until it is capable of receiving of the rays of light he sends it—still, one Sabbath alone will not suffice. Especially when so much time passes between each visit until he returns, so that the rebbe’s avodah during the first visit has already weakened.

Now, through the act of Zimri at Shittim, Israel began to whore after the daughters of Moab; and they seized the Blessed Creator’s characteristic, the characteristic of love, and through this distanced themselves from Blessed [God] – whereas on the contrary, through this they could have drawn themselves closer. But they remained in contraction, a place where the Upper Love was contracted, and they drew it down to a place of the judgments and the contraction; and therefore the punishment, God save us, came upon them, wherein twenty-four thousand Israelites died. But Pinhas, on account of his holding onto the Omnipresent’s zealousness, upheld and established the characteristic of mercy [hesed], which the wicked had cast down; and therefore he deserved to be a priest. And that is [the meaning of] settled my wrath – from the idiom of settling the soul (Psalm 19:8), [meaning] that Pinhas settled [God’s] spirit, as if it were possible, as we have stated above, through the beloved child at whose hands the judgments are sweetened and absorbed into mercy. And therefore it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood (Num 25:13), and therefore Pinhas only became a priest after he killed Zimri, for then he held onto and established the characteristic of mercy; and understand this, blessed is God forever, amen and amen.

And now, for the sake of our brothers and friends, who tremble at the word of God, seeking the Torah and loving its wisdom, I will now say, “Peace unto the lovers of God’s Torah!” Come, House of Yaakov, and you will walk in the light of God,⁴⁸¹Yeshayahu, 2:5. may God be with us as He was with our forefathers, He shall not forsake us and He shall not forget us.⁴⁸²Melachim 1, 8:57 He shall forever lead us by peaceful waters, our rest shall be in our very progression from strength to strength, to ascend the ladder fixed in the ground which rises to Heaven! As for our revilers, who ask why we bother to invest so much contemplation into the Torah until our strength is exhausted? Who claim that the simple explanations of the written and oral Torah is enough. To them, I will offer noble words⁴⁸³See Mishlei, 8:6. which draw the heart of man. Come and consider, see and behold! Taste and see that God is good⁴⁸⁴Tehillim, 34:9 to those who yearn for their souls to be restored by His perfect Torah.⁴⁸⁵See Tehillim, 19:8. Those who contemplate it in the depths of their hearts will see and understand that those who taste its depths will merit life. These are the things that man will do and through them he shall live for eternity. Do you not see now that the house of Yaakov is faithful and the house of Yosef is your provider?⁴⁸⁶Bereshit, 42:6. From the time the house was established, he has been faithful to sustain Israel with every word that comes out of the mouth of God upon which man lives.⁴⁸⁷“…he would make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but rather by all that comes forth from the mouth of G-d” (Devarim, 8:3). Interpreted in hasidic terms, this means that it is not physical sustenance that gives life, but the Divine essence within the food that enlivens. So, too, the author rails against those who neglect or deny the deeper meaning of the Torah, which is like being concerned only with the body and not the soul. On a more personal level, he seems to be attacking those who deny the validity of the unique (and controversial) interpretative approach of his grandfather, R. Mordechai Yosef of Izhbitz, and of his father, R. Yaakov. Those who reject it have “no portion in Yaakov and no inheritance in the house of Yosef.” This shall cast away those who say that they have no portion in Yaakov and no inheritance in the house of Yosef. Their ways are crooked⁴⁸⁸Mishlei, 2:15 and they pervert the explanations of the Torah, hanging their misunderstandings like a lyre, preaching all of their logic which has no basis in God’s Torah, not in the words of the Tanaaim and Amoraim of the oral law, and all that they imagine they hang on a great tree⁴⁸⁹That is, claim that they can based their false interpretation on valid, earlier sources. Here, too, the author may be critiquing those who claim that Maimonides was a rationalist, who did not deal with the secrets of the Torah. The author proved that claim wrong in the first half of this work. asserting, “This is the meaning of the Torah.” For these, the House of Yaakov will be a fire and the House of Yosef like a flame!⁴⁹⁰Ovadia, 1:18. They will see and learn. They will see how to reveal the Torah of God from the plain meaning of the words, for are not His words like fire,⁴⁹¹Yirmiyahu, 23:29. and all who desire its light with truth and faith can come and warm themselves? And likewise, as a flame it will burn all those who learn Torah in order to vex the scholars of the mysteries, and who wear it as a crown and wield it as an axe.⁴⁹²See the Talmud, Pirke Avot, 4:5 And now, House of Yaakov, walk in the light of God and come home. See and understand that all the words of the Torah written in this book are needed for every man of Israel, in every place and every time. And how all of the events recorded in the Torah can illuminate every soul and instruct him how to sustain his life and all that he goes through with justice.⁴⁹³Tehillim 112:5. For the words of the Torah are living and enduring for all eternity. All who contemplate the Torah grasp onto the tree of life, and it is life for those who hold onto it.⁴⁹⁴Mishlei, 3:18. May God illuminate our eyes to His Torah, and place His love and fear in our hearts, in order to do His will, and to serve Him with a whole heart.⁴⁹⁵From the liturgy of the morning prayer, in the blessing before the reading of the Shema Yisrael.

And in a different way, [we can explain it] according to that which is written (Bava Batra 98a), “One who is haughty is not accepted even by the members of his household.” And Rashi explains, “The members of his household, [means] his wife.” And the reason for the thing is that the Divine Presence dwells between a man and his wife, as is well known. But anyone who is haughty pushes away the feet of the Divine Presence, so he does not have a harmonious domestic life. Rather there is a voice of claims, strife and dissension between them. And that is the meaning of that which is written, “When you build a new house” – his house is his wife (Yoma 2a) – then “you shall make a parapet for your roof,” [understood] as mentioned above, that he should not become haughty. For otherwise, “you shall not place damim in your house” – which is an expression of quiet – there will [instead] be yelling, strife and disagreement. And so Adam first called her, Adam, as they were perfectly united – before being split. But when she was separated from him, he called her, woman – since God was still dwelling between them. But then after the sin, when there was no longer peace between them, he called her, Chava – which is an expression of speech, as in, “expresses (yechaveh) knowledge” (Psalms 19:3). And this is as it is written in the Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 18:4), “’This time (paam)’ (Genesis 2:23), as it says (Exodus 28:34), ‘A golden bell (paamon),’ etc. – that will yell out in the future, etc.” And this is especially with a second marriage, which the Sages, may their memory be blessed, said (Sotah 2a) is [determined] according to his actions. And that is because it is impossible for a first marriage to be according to his actions – for what he will be like is not known before conception (which is when the match is determined). As [while many things are determined before conception,] whether he will be righteous or an evildoer is not (Niddah 16b). But with the second marriage, he is matched according to his deeds. And hence he must improve all of his traits for the sake of Heaven, so that his match will go well.

One should take care to pray, whether in summer or in winter, before the rising of the sun. That is, the majority of the prayer, almost up to the recitation of the Shema, before the sun rises. For the distance between before and after sunrise is as the distance between East and West, since before it rises one can still easily nullify the forces of harshness. This can be seen in the verse (Psalms 19:6) "And he (the sun) is like a groom going forth from his canopy, eager as a hero, etc... and nothing is hidden from his heat (michamato)." Don't read this word as michamato, but rather micheimato, "from his anger!" This means that once the sun has gone out over the land, then nothing is hidden from the forces of harshness that derive from the fiery angels of the sun. This matter, therefore, should not be seen as insignificant in your eyes, for it is a great matter. The Baal Shem Tov, may his memory be a blessing, would be very particular about this, and occasionally he would rather pray at this time alone, if a minyan could not be gathered.

"The one who walks alone on a path and studies and makes a break from their study..." (Pirkei Avot 3:4 [in Sefaria's version, Avot 3:7]). A problem: "and makes a break from their study" alone would tell us that they were studying [i.e. and we don't need "and studies"]. A further problem: "the verse is applied to them... [as though they were liable for death]" (ibid.) -- and it doesn't explain which verse! And it's possible to explain as follows: "the one who walks on a straight path" -- and even if they are alone, which is to say that they are not fused to the Name may it be Blessed -- "and studies and makes a break in their study", here the text wants to say "makes a break" [between] the person themself and the Name may it be blessed. They do this by means of their study, since greatness and glory come to them by means of their study, and they think that they own their study. "They say 'how beautiful is this tree'" (ibid.) -- and regarding themself they say the same in their heart, as it is written "for is a man a tree of the field" (Deuteronomy 20:19). And they further say that "this tree [that you saw] grow and become mighty" (Daniel 4:17) [c.f. use of the verse in Zohar 3:53b in reference to tree of life/Torah]. "How beautiful is this newly ploughed field" (Avot 3:7) -- as it is written "Break up your fallow ground" (Jeremiah 4:3). Meaning, that they say they are preparing for themself a portion in the world to come by means of their study. "The verse is applied to them" (Avot 3:7) -- meaning, the verse "You shall be wholehearted with the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 18:13) -- meaning, even when you are engaged with Torah! As it says of Torah, "the Torah of God is whole" (Psalms 19:8) -- and that which it says "You shall be wholehearted" -- even in engagement with Torah, "you should be with the Lord your God." And do not say "Isn't the Torah itself called 'Torah of God'?" [and that this suffices for one's relationship with God]. And that is what it says this "verse is applied to them" -- that it includes all the Torah, "as though they were liable for death."