Chasidut su Salmi 24:78

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.

2. At night, Malchut is in exile. The essence of the perfection of Malchut is through length of days. In other words, the aspect of Da'at/Knowledge, the aspect of benevolences. At night, judgment(s) are strengthened {they have the upper hand, so to speak}. Therefore, at that time. Da'at is hidden and Malchut is dimished and descends among the lower {worlds}. The essence of Da'at is received from the hands, in the aspect of an argument for the sake of heaven, the aspect of (Lamentations 3:41) "Let us lift up our hearts to our hands", etc. And at night, the spirit in the pulse does not flow as much {literally, 'the spirit which beats'} and the movement of the limbs are heavier at night. Because of this, the melancholy spirit is then strengthened, in the aspect of (Psalms 30:6) "in the evening, weeping may tarry". The essence of this strengthening is on the hands, as is explained there in the aspect of 'melancholy hands', etc. Therefore, in the morning, when the spirit renews and returns and animates all the limbs, then the melancholy spirit is nullified, in the aspect of (Id.) "but in the morning there is joyful singing". The spirit in the pulse returns to flow through all the limbs, especially the hands. Therefore, one must specifically purify his hands, for there the melancholy spirit is especially strong, as explained above. And the opposite is also true - at that time even more holiness is drawn down there {to the hands} and therefore they must be sanctified and purified. Purification is through water, which is the aspect of benevolences, the aspect of Da'at. Then, through this, one may build the Malchut. For the essence of the building of Malchut is from the hands, in the aspect of (Song of Songs 2:6) "His left hand was under my head, and his right hand...", etc. In other words, through the spirit of the pulse that is in the heart, it is drawn on the hands until they can reach heavenward. And from there, one can receive words in the aspect of arguments for the sake of heaven, as explained above. This is the aspect of Da'at, through which is the essence of the perfection of Malchut, as explained above. This is the meaning of (Berakhot 15a) "Anyone who relieves himself, washes his hands, dons phylacteries and recites Shema is as if he received the perfect yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven. For the essence of the perfection of Malchut is through subduing the evil and the kelipot which have hold of holiness. This is what our Rabbi {Rebbe Nachman z"l} wrote there, that the essence of the perfection of Malchut is to rebuke and to chastise the people in order to chase away the evil and the kelipot. This is the aspect of (Proverbs 25:4-5) "Remove dross from silver", etc. "Remove the wicked man before the king, and his throne will be established with righteousness". With chesed/loving-kindness specifically. For through this da'at is evoked, which is the aspect of chesed, as explained above. This is why it is necessary to wash the hands twice - before using the bathroom and afterwards. Because it is impossible to chase away the evil except through da'at, as is explained there. Therefore, one must first purify the hands in order to evoke da'at, in the aspect of 'length of days'. Through this one is able to reveal the hidden; in other words, to banish and nullify the kelipot which cover and hide the holiness. From there itself one is able to evoke length of days, the aspect of da'at, as is explained there. This is the aspect of washing the hands a second time aftewards, in order to evoke da'at and length of days, to merit by banishing the evil, as explained above. This is the aspect of then putting on tefillin. Because one purified his hands, he can then use them, in the aspect of (Deuteronomy 32:40) "For I raise up My hand to heaven", the aspect of (Psalms 134:2) "Lift your hands in the holy place" and evoke da'at through the hands into the mind, as explained above. The aspect of tefillin comes from this, which are mentalities, and are the aspect of life and length of days. As our Rabbis of Blessed Memory stated (Menachot 44a) "Whoever lays tefillin attains life". This is the meaning of (Psalms 24:3) "Who will ascend upon the Lord's mount and who will stand in His Holy place?". In other words, who is able to merit da'at, which is the aspect of Hashem's mount and His holy place, i.e. the Beit Hamikdash, which is the aspect of da'at. "He who has clean hands and a pure heart" (Id.), because through a pure heart comes clean hands, the aspect of (Lamentations 3:41) "Let us lift up our hearts to our hands". Through this one may ascend Hashem's mountain to obtain da'at, the aspect of (Deuteronomy 32:40) "For I raise up My hand to heaven", the aspect of argument for the sake of heaven, as explained above. This is the aspect of Chesed/Loving-kindness, Gevurah, Tif'eret, which ascends and becomes Chochmah, Binah and Da'at. This is what is written in the Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim Siman 4 Seif 3), that it is forbidden to touch the mouth, nose, eyes and ears before washing the hands; these are the aspects of the 'Seven Candles' which receive the Light of the Face, i.e. the Intellect. The reception is through the hands. When the hands are impure one can receive the opposite, G-d forbid, since the other {the evil forces} also receive from the hands, as explained above. Afterwards, we read the Shema which is the acceptance of the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, which one merits through relieving oneself, washing the hands, and putting on tefillin, as explained above. This is he aspect of uncovering the hidden, as it is written "Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One". Even in all the hidden {things}, we receive vitality from Him. As it says in the Zohar (III, Eikev page 273) "One should prolong the pronunciation of the dalet in Echad, as in (Deuteronomy 17:20) 'so that he will have length of days over his kingdom'". In other words, as explained above, the essence of the reading of the Shema is the letter dalet of the word Echad (One), the aspect of evoking length of days, which is Da'at, into Malchut. This is what our Rabbis of Blessed Memory wrote (Berakhot 15a), all who relieve themselves, wash their hands, put on tefillin, and read the Shema are as if they accepted the perfect yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven. All of this is the aspect of the perfection of Malchut, as explained above. This is as our Rabbis of Blessed Memory said 'and immersed oneself', for this is considered like he immersed. This is the aspect of immersion, the aspect of Mikvah, the aspect of Da'at Elyon (Supernal Wisdom) and great benevolences. For this is the essence of the perfection of Malchut, as explained above and as brought there. See there, study the lesson "And on the day of the first fruits" well, as seen above, and understand the words. For all of this {I} wrote in brief and it is impossible to understand these words well until you study the lesson, as seen above.

It is written in the Midrash Rabbah (Kohelet, Parsha 1), “‘I wounded, and I will heal.’ (Devarim, 32:39) … Rabbi Yohanan said, ‘I struck’ is not written, but rather ‘I wounded.’ I created a wound²⁷⁵The word for wound – mahatsti – is similar to the word mehitsah, “divider.” in that I made a division between the upper and lower realms whereby the upper realms exist forever, and the lower realms are subject to death. Yet in the time to come, there will no longer be death, as it is written (Yeshayahu, 25:8), ‘He will destroy death forever.’ Rabbi Abba said, furthermore, in the time to come I will return and heal the wound. It is precisely through the division that I bring healing.” The matter of division hints at the positive aspect of separation, which necessitates the existence of free choice, as mentioned above. The result of choosing the good, despite the concealment of God’s presence, is the revelation of the God’s glory in the world. This is as the Gemara says (Rosh Hashanah, 31a), “[What psalm did the Levites recite] on the second day of the week? ‘God is great and greatly praised,’ (Tehillim, 145:3) because He divided His works and ruled over them.” The division of God’s attributes led to the birth of the attribute of Malkhut – G-d’s Kingship – by means of human beings using their power of choice. Before the division, God could not be called, “King.”²⁷⁶Before the division of heaven and earth, God ruled alone. R. Gershon Hanokh uses the term moshel - – a ruler – to define G-d’s reign at that stage. This is unlike a king, who rules through the consent of the people. Thus, it was only on the second day, after the division in creation was formed and something “other” than G-d existed, could the creation willfully crown Him as its King. Thus, on the first day of the week [the Levites recited]; “The earth is God’s and the fullness thereof” (Tehillim, 24:1).²⁷⁷The song that the Levites sung each day of the week corresponded to the six primordial days in which G-d created the world. Since, on the first day of creation, there was not yet a division between heaven and earth, nor was there an independent creation to coronate G-d as King, so, the Levites, on Sunday, sang “The earth is God’s and the fullness thereof.” At that point, the creation belonged solely to G-d. It was then that He acquired, gave over acquisition, and ruled in His world. What does it mean that God, “ruled,” on the first day? He ruled against the will of the creation, without having His sovereignty built upon the free choice of the creation. But since concealment is a prerequisite for choice, it also leads to absence, darkness, and the need for healing. This is hinted at in the Zohar (Bo, 35a), with the secret of the great sea creature:²⁷⁸See Bereshit, 1:21 Then, when the light was hidden above from the gardener,²⁷⁹The Zohar is revealing the secrets of the mystery of creation, which begins on the first day, where God “divided between the light and the darkness.” Before this passage, the Zohar introduced the concept of the Tsaddik (Holy Man, also, alluding to the sefirah of Yesod) who is described as a gardener, who tends, cultivates, and facilitates growth. It also represents Divine providence, which “cultivates,” humankind in particular and the creation as a whole. as mentioned, the first darkness emerged, hitting [the sea creature] on the hole that had been made in its head. And a single thread emerged from between the light that had been hidden and the emerging darkness. This is as it is written, “And God divided between the light and the darkness.” This sea creature,²⁸⁰The sea creature is the Leviathan (see Bereshit 1), representing the highest levels of Hokhmah - Wisdom (ChaBaD of Hokhmah), which are the concealed forces in the upper waters. The Midrash teaches us that there were two Leviathans, the largest creatures of the sea, a male and a female. The female was killed after being created, and its meat was salted and preserved for the Righteous in the time to come. with the separation of the thread, was then divided into the rivers that flow within the darkness.²⁸¹The thread of light that that the Zohar tells us is emerging from the darkness provides the power of choice and the ability for man in the lower world to choose the good, thereby revealing God’s glory in the world. God created the lower world purely out of His kindness. This is as it is written (Tehillim, 89:3), “For I have said, the world will be built on kindness.” God divided space into six directions.²⁸²North, south, east, west, up, down. Each direction representing one of the six lower attributes (Sefirot), and from the division of these six attributes comes the power of choice, which brings forth the seventh and final attribute of Malkhut – Kingship.²⁸³Malkhut is the ability to receive God’s light and thereby crown Him as King of the world. This is related to the statement in the Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer, that Kingship only comes about through choice and will. Now, the attributes are divided into Hesed - Lovingkindness, Gevurah - Strength, Tiferet - Beauty, etc.²⁸⁴The revelation of God’s sovereignty is achieved through man actively choosing through which of the six lower attributes that Sovereignty will be revealed. To reveal the aspect of Sovereignty in any one of the attributes, one must draw the light of ChaBaD into that attribute. We have mentioned above that each of the attributes on its own is not intrinsically good. Thus, when any one of the attributes is used without Da’at – Consciousness²⁸⁵Da’at, or Divine consciousness, originates in the intellect, or the upper three sefirot, and is ideally drawn down and infused into the lower revealed sefirot, the attributes of action. The drawing of divine consciousness allows for spiritual growth, much as water and nutrients that flows through the tree allows for the tree to grow. one could make grave blunders, such as showing mercy to cruel people.²⁸⁶This would be a misuse of the trait of Hesed - lovingkindness. See above, Part 2, chapter 2, for a discussion of the misuse or “unclarified” used of the attributes. However, when the six lower attributes²⁸⁷The six lower “revealed” Sefirot are Hesed – Lovingkindness, Gevurah – Strength, Tiferet – Beauty, Netzah –Eternity, Hod – Majesty, and Yesod – Foundation. Each of these corresponds, as well, to elements of the human personality. are illuminated with the light of HaBaD,²⁸⁸HaBaD is the initials of the three upper “intellectual” or “hidden” Sefirot, Hokhmah – Wisdom, Binah – Understanding, and Da’at – Consciousness. HaBaD is the spiritual root of man’s intellectual faculties. and as a result, the sum total of the attributes are used in their proper time and place, then the structure is complete. Then the attribute of Malkhut comes forth as the true completion and perfection of all the attributes, and the light of the Kingship of Heaven shines in its full completeness. Indeed, when a man reaches the point where he is drawing HaBaD into the lower attributes, which is possible only through his concerted efforts in Divine service and striving to know God, it must occur in the same way that Shabbat follows the six days of the week.²⁸⁹The six work days correspond to the six attributes (sefirot), from Hesed to Yesod, with Shabbat corresponding to the Sefirah of Malkhut. Just as free will needs the engagement of all six of these attributes (without which, a person would be emotionally imbalanced, and fall into idolatry, as explained above), which leads to the creation of Malkhut – the willing acceptance of G-d’s kingship – so too, does Shabbat follow the six days of the week. Similarly, with man, this is only possible through efforts at the service of God, crowning God over him as his King, and accepting upon himself the yoke of the Kingship of Heaven. In the world, this idea is hinted at in the place of the Holy Temple, which is a place of lucid Divine service, for it is at that place that God shines His light in its fullness.

This is exemplified by the miracle that occurred when King Shlomo brought the Holy Ark into the Temple. It is written in the Midrash Tanhuma (Vaera, 7) on the verse, “Raise, O gates, your heads, and be lift up, you everlasting doors!” (Tehillim, 24) that Shlomo said these words when he sought to bring the Ark into the Holy of Holies. He had made an ark of ten cubits in size, placed the original Ark of Moshe inside of it, and carried it to the Temple. When he arrived at the entrance, he saw that it was also ten cubits wide; however, ten cubits cannot enter into ten cubits.⁴⁰⁷For a space to contain something, it must always be slightly bigger than that which it is supposed to contain. (Eitz Yosef) Furthermore, there was not enough space to accommodate those who were carrying the Ark. They could not bring the Ark through the gate. Shlomo stood, ashamed, not knowing what to do. He began to pray to God. Our sages teach us that he brought the casket of his father David, and said (Divrei HaYamim 2, 6:42), “Hashem Elo-him! Do not turn away the face of Your anointed.” “Master of the world!” he said. “Do it in the merit of this one. Remember the kindnesses of Your servant David.” Whereupon he was immediately answered.⁴⁰⁸And was able to bring in the Ark. My father, master and teacher, the holy Rav, explained that the essence of the miracle was a revelation of the supernal light of Atika Kadisha in this lower world. If the size of the gate was miraculously widened to make enough space for the Ark, or if the Ark had become smaller, it would not have been such a great miracle. The Gemara (Ta’anit, 25a) tells of how the prayers of Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa caused the beams of a house to lengthen.⁴⁰⁹Once a woman, who lived near Rabbi Hanina, built a house, but the beams would not reach the walls. She came to him and said, “I have built a house but the beams will not reach the walls.” He asked her, “What is your name? “Aiku.” she replied. He then exclaimed, “Aiku, may your beams reach the walls!” A Tanna taught, they extended one cubit on both sides. Some say that new pieces miraculously joined themselves to the beams. Polemo said, “I saw the house, and its beams extended one cubit on both sides. People told me, ‘This is the house which Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa covered with beams through his prayer.’” However, in the Holy Temple, the measurements of the gates, the Ark, or anything else could not be changed, as it is written (Divrei HaYamim 1:28:19), “All this, said David, is written by the hand of God who instructed me, even all the works of this blueprint.” The Gemara (Berachot, 17a) understands this to mean that Temple and all of its vessels had to be built according to the exact measurements that King David received in his prophetic understanding and taught to Shlomo. The miracle here was that matter entered into matter, and two different entities occupied the identical place and time, in defiance of natural governance. If man believes in this with perfect faith, and absolute sincerity, his heart will not go astray after strange logic or the philosophical speculations of those of limited consciousness. In his faith he will find all he needs to allay all the doubts and confusions resulting from all such doubts and inquiries.