Translation:Likutei Moharan/57

The students of Rabbi Yosi son of Kisma asked him: “When will the son of David come?” He answered them: “When this gate will fall and be rebuilt, fall and be rebuilt, and fall. Then, before they have enough time to rebuild it, the son of David will come.” (Sanhedrin 98a)

Shaalu et Rebbi Yosi ben Kisma: When will the son of David come?…

Know! an angel is created from each and every word spoken by God (Chagigah 14a). Each and every word is divided into many sparks, in the aspect of “like a hammer shattering rock” (Jeremiah 23:29), and commensurate with the amount of sparks, a like number of angels are created. The angel created from the word that encompasses the sparks is the ruler and head of the angels created from the sparks, and they are his troops. {There is not a blade of grass below that does not have an angel from Above, striking it and telling it, “Grow!” (Bereishit Rabbah 10:7).}

Each angel is put in charge of something. Even all the trees and grasses have [angels] appointed over them. As our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “There is not a blade of grass below that does not have an angel from Above.” Each angel receives its vitality from the word, and transmits [that vitality] into the thing in its charge — i.e., some grass or other thing over which it is appointed.

These two capacities — i.e., the capacity the angel has to receive and the capacity to transmit — are called the aspect of hands. With the right hand it receives its vitality, and with the left hand it transmits [it], corresponding to, “striking it and telling it, ‘Grow!’” The striking is an aspect of the left side.

We see, then, that all healing is dependent upon the Torah, in the aspect of “a healing for all his flesh” (Proverbs 4:22). This is because the Torah gives strength to the angels, and the angels transmit [it] to the grasses, so that the grasses heal through the power of the Torah.

But when someone blemishes [his] faith in the Torah sages and violates their restrictions, his punishment has no cure, in the aspect of (Avodah Zarah 27b): “Perhaps a ‘snake’ of the sage has bitten him, for which there is no cure.” For someone who violates their restrictions thereby removes the hands of the angels according to how he strays from the words of the rabbis.

This is the meaning of (Deuteronomy 17:11), “Do not stray from the word they declare to you, either to the right or the left” — according to the manner in which he strays. If he strays to the right of the path set forth by the rabbis, he removes the right [hand from] the angel and it is unable to receive. If he strays to the left, he removes the left hand from the angel and it is unable to transmit. And when one of the angel’s hands is impaired, this person has no cure, because the grass needed to cure him lacks the power to heal, for no one transmits to it.

This is the aspect of (Deuteronomy 28:61), “a punishment that is not mentioned in [this book of] the Torah.” This is the death of Torah sages — i.e., the death that Torah sages bring upon some person. For the illness that affects a person because he transgressed the words of the rabbis has no cure, so that he dies from the illness. This death is the result of “a punishment that is not mentioned in the Torah,” because matters not mentioned in the Torah were given over to the sages, and we are commanded to hear it from them. Yet there is a person who ridicules their words and has no faith in what they say, for it seems to him that from the Torah’s perspective it is not so. As a result, he is afflicted with a punishment that has no cure, and he dies from it.

There are also afflictions of love that assail a person who is righteous. He is plagued with afflictions, yet his cure is not dependent on herbal remedies because he is a righteous person who has not impaired the hands of the angel, so that the hands are whole. This is the meaning of “for I am sick with love. His left arm is under my head and his right arm embraces me” (Song of Songs 2:5-6). That is, “sick with love” might assail a certain person, yet his cure is not dependent on the above mentioned hands because from his side the hands are whole, corresponding to “His left arm is under my head….”

This is: Rabbi Yochanan came to a Tanna who was plagued with afflictions and said to him, “Do your afflictions please you?” “No,” he answered, [“neither them not their reward”]. “Give me your hand,” he said. [He gave him his hand, and Rabbi Yochanan stood him up.] (Berakhot 5b).

Rabbi Yochanan assumed that these afflictions were afflictions of love, which is why he asked him, “Do your afflictions please you?” He asked him if he was pleased by the afflictions — i.e., if they were afflictions of love — and he answered him, “No.” Thus, when Rabbi Yochanan heard that they were not afflictions of love, he thought that perhaps [the Tanna] had impaired the hands, God forbid, and this is why he had no cure. This is why he said to him, “Give me your hand,” in order to determine if, as mentioned above, he had violated the words of the rabbis, God forbid. Thus as soon as he gave him his hand, he stood him up. For they were not afflictions of love, nor had he impaired the hands. This is the reason he was able to recover and get up from his illness.

And this is: “With his strength he pulls the mighty. Let him rise up, he who has no faith in life” (Job 24:22). Since he has no faith in the Torah sages, who are called “alive” — as our Sages, of blessed memory, taught (Berakhot 18b): “Benayahu the son of Yehoyada, the son of a living man”; even after they have passed away, the righteous are called “alive”—he therefore succumbs to an illness which causes him to have no faith in his life; i.e., there is not a single person who has faith that he will recover from this illness, because his punishment is incurable, as mentioned above.

His rectification is to raise up fallen faith and have faith in the sages. This is the meaning of “Let him rise up, he who has no faith in life” — i.e., he who had no faith in the sages, who are called “alive,” let him raise up this fallen faith. Through this he will get up from this illness, which until now no person had faith that he had any cure for his punishment. But through his faith he is healed, because through faith in the sages he rectifies the aspect of the hands of the angels, and they receive and transmit potency to the grasses so that he can be healed.

This is “With his strength he pulls the mighty” — i.e., the angels, who are called “mighty.” They all return to him his KoaCh (strength) —i.e., the Kaf-Chet (28) sections of the hands—and infuse divine grace into whatever they are appointed over. Then, he has a cure, because the words of the sages create and rectify the aspect of the hands, as mentioned above.

The way to raise up fallen faith is through the aspect of Yaakov — i.e., through a vow. A person should make some vow, and through the vow he restores his faith in the sages. For when he lacks faith in the sages, this is the aspect of the passing of the sages, the aspect of wonder, corresponding to (Isaiah 29:14), “I will continue to bewilder this people with bewilderment and wonder, and the wisdom of its wise men will fail.” Our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded this as referring to the passing of the sages (Eikhah Rabbah 1:37).

The rectification of this wonder — i.e., the passing of the sages — is the wonder of a vow, in the aspect of “if he wondrously expresses a vow” (Numbers 6:2). By means of the vow he ascends to the source in which the sages are rooted — i.e., the aspect of “wondrous wisdom” — and so he knows and recognizes the virtues of the sages. Through this he reverts to having faith in them.

{“I will give thanks to Your Name, for You have done wonder; counsels from afar in steadfast faith” (Isaiah 25:1).} This is the aspect of “I will give thanks to Your Name, for You have done wonder,” and through this, “counsels from afar in steadfast faith.” In other words, through the aspect of a vow, which is the aspect of wonder, there is a rectification of faith in the sages, whose counsels are from afar, in the aspect of “from afar she brings her bread” (Proverbs 31:10).

For the words of Torah are sparse in their place but enriched from elsewhere (Yerushalmi, Rosh HaShanah 3:5); the sages derive their teachings from remote places in the Torah. It has been given over to them to expound the Torah as they please, with the Thirteen Principles through which the Torah is expounded, and we are obligated to have faith in all their words, in the aspect of “Do not stray from the word [they declare to you, either to the right or the left].”

And Yaakov is the aspect of a vow, for he is the head of all who make vows, as it is written (Genesis 28:20), “Yaakov made a vow.” {“By the hands of the mighty one of Yaakov; from there, the ro’eh (shepherd), the rock of Israel” (Genesis 49:24).}

And this is: “By the hands of the mighty one of Yaakov.” In order to rectify the hands of the angel, which is called “the mighty one,” it is necessary to utilize a vow, which is the aspect of Yaakov, as mentioned above. For “from there, the ro’eh, the rock of Israel” — i.e., through the vow there is a rectification of faith, which is called “Ro’EH,” in the aspect of “Re’EH (nourish) faith” (Psalms 37:3). And when faith is rectified, the hands are rectified, in the aspect of “Do not stray,” as mentioned above.

When the hands are rectified through a vow, as mentioned above, then the lights of the patriarchs shine in him. This is because a vow is the aspect of the light of Yaakov, and the hands are Avraham and Yitzchak, who are right and left. This is the aspect of “He performed wonders in the sight of their fathers” (Psalms 78:12) — i.e., through the above mentioned wonder, the light of the patriarchs shines in him.

Thus, the final letters of the names of the patriarchs, B - K - M, are an acronym for “B’shemen Kodshi Meshachtiv (I anointed him with My holy oil)” (Psalms 89:21). This hints to the aspect of a vow, for it is written in the vow of Yaakov (Genesis 28:22), “Let this rock that…”; and it is written (ibid. 35:14), “then he poured oil on it.” In other words, by means of a vow, the light of the patriarchs shines on a person.

By means of these lights, a person ascends and delights in the delight of Shabbat, in the aspect of “Then you can delight… I will let you ride the heights of the earth, and I will give you to enjoy the inheritance of your father Yaakov” (Isaiah 58:14). “The heights of the earth” are Avraham and Yitzchak, who are the hands, for they are the “arms of the world” (Deuteronomy 33:27). “I will give you to enjoy the inheritance of your father Yaakov” — this is the above mentioned vow. By means of the patriarchs and the above mentioned faith, he merits the delight of ShaBbaT.

[Shabbat] is the aspect of Shin BaT. Shin is the aspect of the patriarchs. BaT is the aspect of faith, the aspect of “Avraham had a bat,” the aspect of “A faithful man has abundant blessings” (Proverbs 28:20).

This delight of Shabbat is the aspect of eating in holiness. From weekday eating the Other Side too derives benefit, whereas the Other Side has no share whatsoever of Shabbat eating. This is why we have been commanded concerning Shabbat eating, as it is written (Exodus 16:25), “Eat it today, for today is God’s Shabbat.” This is because the food of Shabbat becomes holiness and absolute Godliness, without any waste whatsoever.

One can accomplish with Shabbat eating what one accomplishes by fasting — i.e., defeating one’s enemies in the merit of Shabbat delight just as one does by fasting. On account of this it is called ShaBbaT, because it is propitious “lehaShBiT (for putting an end to) enemy and avenger” (Psalms 8:3).

By fasting, a person’s enemies fall before him, because through the anger that stems from the liver — the aspect of “the liver is angry” (Berakhot 61b) — the great accuser is aroused. This is Esav, EDoM, whose place is in the liver; and he is “ӔDMoni (the Red One),” for he is the aspect of the liver, which is full of DaM (blood).

From this highest accuser, accusers are aroused that devolve below and oppress a person who gets angry. They rule over him and are not afraid of him, since because of the anger he appears to them to be an animal, in the aspect of (Psalms 49:13, 21), “likened to the beasts, who are cut off.” For in the main, the fear a human being instills — in the aspect of “a fear and a dread of you” (Genesis 9:2) — is due only to the image of God in the human face. By virtue of this image, a human being is a human being. Thus, when the image is removed, he then goes from the category of human being to the category of animal, and so the fear he instills is removed.

The essence of the image that illuminates a person’s face is the wisdom of the Creator, which He gave to human beings as an advantage over the animals. It illuminates the face of a human being, in the aspect of “A man’s wisdom illuminates his face” (Ecclesiastes 8:1). But because of the anger, if he is wise, his wisdom departs. Then his image departs, and his face falls, in the aspect of “Why are you so furious? Why is your face fallen?” (Genesis 4:6). And when he lacks the face of a human being, the fear he instills departs, because he is “likened to the beasts,” and his adversaries oppress him.

But by means of fasting he rectifies his face and reinstates his wisdom, which is his image that illuminates his face. The everyone fears him, and his enemies fall lephanav (before him) — specifically lephanav, since in the main their fall is because of the panim (face), as mentioned above.

All this happens by means of fasting, because by fasting the liver is made subservient to the mind. On a day that a person eats, the liver is nourished first, and afterwards it sends to the mind. Thus it is that on a day of eating, prominence and rule belong to the liver. But when one fasts, then the mind is nourished first, and afterwards the mind sends food to the liver. Thus it is that on a day of fasting the liver is subservient to the mind, and the prominence and rule belong to the mind.

This is a rectification for his having initially blemished wisdom, which is the mind, the image that illuminates his face. Now, by means of fasting, he subdues the liver and gives the mind rulership. And when the liver, the chief accuser, is subdued, then all the enemies that are connected with the liver are subdued.

Hence, the letters TZOM are an acronym for “Vekhatoti Mepanav TZarav (I will thrash his adversaries from before him)” (Psalms 89:24). By means of fasting, the liver is subdued, and the mind of wisdom, the image, is rectified and illuminates a person’s face. By means of the image in panav (his face), “I will thrash his adversaries mepanav (from before him)” — specifically from his panav, as mentioned above.

But when a person merits the aspect of the delight of Shabbat, as mentioned above, then he has no need to fast, because he accomplishes with his eating what he accomplished by fasting — i.e., “lehaShBiT enemy and avenger.” For ShaBbaT eating is holy, and “no stranger may eat of the holy” (Leviticus 22:10). {“All wrathful dominions and bearers of judgments—they all flee and depart from her, and there is no ruling power [but she] in all the worlds. Her face glows with heavenly lights” (Zohar II, 135b).}

Then the liver is subdued and its power eliminated, in the aspect of “all wrathful dominions” — these are the aspect of “the liver is angry” — ”they all flee and depart,” {so that the mind of wisdom grows great and illuminates the face, in the aspect of “Her face glows with heavenly lights.”}

Then, all is love, in the aspect of “O love of delight” (Song of Songs 7:7). All this is from the above mentioned delight of Shabbat.

Know, too, that to eliminate and subdue the enemy, either fasting or Shabbat eating is enough on its own. But for an abundance of peace it is necessary to increase charity, as in the teaching of our Sages, of blessed memory: The more charity, the more peace (Avot 2:7). And this is what they said: The reward for fasting is charity (Berakhot 6b). And they said: Sun on Shabbat is charity for the poor (Taanit 8b). “Sun” is the aspect of peace, as in the teaching of our Sages: “the sun shone upon him” (Exodus 22:2) — just as the sun brings peace to all the world’s inhabitants… (Mekhilta, Mishpatim 6). This is: “Sun” — i.e., peace — is achieved only by means of “charity to the poor.”

Know, too, that there is a difference between the peace of fasting of the weekdays, and the peace of the delight of Shabbat. That is, the peace of fasting lacks the aspect of speech, [in] the aspect of “they could not speak a word of peace [to him]” (Genesis 37:4). But by means of the delight of Shabbat eating, speech is executed in peace, in the aspect of “For the sake of my kin and my companions, I will now speak peace” (Psalms 122:8). This is the aspect of “or speaking of [weekday] matters” (Isaiah 58:13), which is said with regard to Shabbat, because the mouth is made whole through the great light [that shines] at the time of Shabbat eating.

And this is as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: The difference between chametz and matzah is but a mashehu (whit).

ChaMeTZ is the aspect of rectifying anger through fasting, as mentioned above. This is the aspect of “Who is this coming from Edom with ChaMuTZ (bloodstained) clothing?” (Isaiah 63:1). “Edom” is the above mentioned aspect of the liver; chametz corresponds to its subjugation, the aspect of fasting, the absence of eating. This is the aspect of “You must not eat any maChMeTZet (leavened thing)” (Exodus 12:20). “You must not eat” — this is the above mentioned aspect of fasting.

MaTZah is the aspect of the delight of Shabbat eating, the aspect of “so that taMoTZu (you will nourish) and delight…” (Isaiah 66:11).

This is the meaning of “The difference between chametz and matzah …”—i.e., the difference between fasting and the above mentioned delight of Shabbat eating. The difference between them “is but a MaSheHU” — an acronym for “Vhayah Maaseh Hatzedakah Shalom (For the work of charity is peace)” (Isaiah 32:17). That is, the peace of fasting is not like the peace of Shabbat, for the one has no mouth, and the other has a mouth. And this is the difference: The aspect of peace with a mouth has an advantage over peace without a mouth, just as the “speaker” has an advantage over the “living.” Animals are alive like people, yet man has an advantage in that he has the power of speech.

This is the difference between chametz and matzah, which is the difference between the chet and the heh. Chametz is [spelled] with a CheT. This is the aspect of peace without a mouth, the aspect of the “living,” the aspect of “the ChaiyaT (beast) of the field will make peace with you” (Job 5:23) — i.e., the aspect of peace that has no mouth, that lacks the power of speech, like the beasts of the field.

But matzaH is [spelled] with a Heh. This is the heh articulators of the mouth, the power of speech, as mentioned above. This is the aspect of “Heh (Here) you have seed” (Genesis 47:23), the aspect of “Sow charity for yourselves” (Hosea 10:12), the aspect of “the work of charity is peace,” as mentioned above.

{“The lot puts an end to altercation; between those locked in dispute it separates” (Proverbs 18:18).} This is: “The lot puts an end to altercation.” “Lot” is the aspect of the delight of Shabbat, the aspect of “You will rest, and then you will arise to your lot at the end of days” (Daniel 12:13), for then it will be entirely Shabbat. This is the meaning of “You will rest” — the aspect of “but He rested on the seventh day” (Exodus 20:11). This “lot,” which is Shabbat, eliminates altercation and adversaries, as mentioned above.

Moreover, it has power; with it the aspect of the mouth is made, as mentioned above. This is the meaning of “between those locked in dispute it separates” — between the locking and bonding of the leg of the chet to the roof of the chet. He separates [them], so that the chet becomes a heh — i.e., the aspect of the mouth, as mentioned above.

This is the explanation of: They asked Rabbi Yosi son of Kisma: “When will the son of David come?” and he answered them: “When this gate will fall [and be rebuilt, fall and be rebuilt, and fall. Then, before they have enough time to rebuild it, the son of David will come].”

The main point is that it will fall three times, and they will not have enough time to rebuild it before the son of David comes. For the gate of Aram is the aspect of the gate of the Other Side. When it falls one fall after another by means of the aspects I have brought, as mentioned above, then the son of David will come and build the gate of holiness.

That is, when there is no faith in the sages and no one listens to them — in the aspect of “laying a snare for the rebuker at the gate” (Isaiah 29:21) — because of this they take ill, until they have no cure, in the aspect of “they reached the gates of death” (Psalms 107:18). But when they have faith, then the gates of holiness open up for them, in the aspect of “Open the gates… he that keeps faith” (Isaiah 26:2). And when one rises, the other falls. Thus the gate of Aram falls one time.

Faith is built up by means of a vow, and then it shines with the lights of the patriarchs, as mentioned above. Then the gate of holiness is built a second time, in the aspect of “Lift up your heads, O gates” (Psalms 24:7). For the patriarchs are the heads, in the aspect of “These are the heads of the patriarchal houses” (Exodus 6:14). And when one rises, the other falls. This is the aspect of the gate of Aram falling a second time.

And through the lights of the patriarchs one merits ShaBbaT, “lehaShBiT [the] enemy,” and he merits peace, as mentioned above. Then the gate of holiness is built a third time, in the aspect of “render peace-promoting justice in your gates” (Zekhariah 8:16), and in the aspect of charity — ”Do not oppress the pauper in the gate” (Proverbs 22:22). Thus, they subdue the enemies who draw sustenance from the gate of Aram, in the aspect of “Those who sit by the ShaAR (gate) talk about me” (Psalms 69:13), because “the liver [that] is angry” — which is Esav - Edom, as mentioned above, for he is “like a mantle of Sei’AR (hair)” (Genesis 25:25) — has been subdued. This is the gate of Aram falling a third time.

{Rebbe Nachman, of blessed memory, omitted a few words here that appeared in the version he penned with his holy hand. When he handed me this lesson to transcribe, he intentionally crossed out a fair number of words that he had written with his holy hand so that I should not copy them. I could see that this was with definite intention. He did this a number of times, in a number of lessons; when handing me his lesson for transcription, he would very meticulously cross out any number of words [although] they were essential to the text. Yet he would omit some material from the middle because he did not want these words to be revealed. Anyone who studies these passages well can understand that something is missing in the middle of the text. In this lesson, too, it is possible to see this somewhat, for he writes: “When it falls by means of the aspects I have brought,” though this is not the way he would usually express himself. Despite having had all this splendidly recorded and clearly explained, he assiduously omitted some material from the middle, for all his holy words were thoroughly measured and weighed concerning what to reveal and what not to reveal. He was meticulous regarding even one extra word, that it should neither be said nor transcribed.

See what is written in the adjacent lesson, Lesson #58: “The greatness of the devout of the generation is the aspect of the vehicle for renewal of the Torah, in the aspect of. These are etc.” There, it is obvious that something is missing. So now, in light of what is mentioned above, you will understand the matter. For some words have been crossed out there, in the middle of the lesson. Also earlier in that same lesson, Lesson #58, he crossed out any number of words and topics in other places that are less obvious. Then afterwards, in section 5 of Lesson #59, he again crossed out, following “This is the explanation: ‘A house and riches etc .,’ for the patriarchs would convert people, etc.” Any number of words have been erased there, as in other places in that lesson. This is likewise true of a fair number of lessons that he gave over for transcription, as mentioned above. The matter is beyond us.}

Addendum to sections 1 and 2:

Someone who shames a Torah sage has no cure for his punishment (Shabbat 119b). This is because all cures are compounds. In other words, we take so much and so much in volume and weight of a particular medicament and a particular grass, and so much and so much in weight of another grass, and also weigh a number of different types, each grass having a different potency. Then we mix all the types together and make a compound out of them. It is this compound that has the power to heal the person who is ill. We see then that the cure’s essential potency comes from its being a compound. It acquires a new and different potency through the energy it receives from all these grasses that have been mixed together. And it is specifically this potency of the compound that heals the illness. This is why an expert doctor is needed, someone who knows how to make the compound. However, someone who is not an expert, even if he uses the grasses that have the power to heal, he will still not accomplish anything because he does not know how to compound them.

The same is true of the Torah, which is a cure for all things, as it is written, “a healing for all his flesh.” No one knows it other than the sages of the generation, for it has been given over to them to interpret with the Thirteen Principles through which the Torah is expounded. However, from the Torah itself it is impossible to learn anything, except by means of the sages of the generation, for they expound it. For “the words of Torah are sparse in their place but enriched from elsewhere.” The sages assemble, mix and compound the Torah, and with the Thirteen Principles expound one place based on another: “removing, adding and expounding” (Bava Batra 111b). And even though in the Torah it is written one way, they remove a letter or word from there and add it elsewhere, and with this interpret it in accordance with what they know, as was given over to them. Therefore, when someone disgraces a Torah sage, he has no cure for his punishment. This is because the main healing energy that we get from the Torah can be gotten only through the sages of the generation, for it was given over to them to expound and they know how to compound the Torah’s letters, as mentioned above. This is the essence of the healing energy, because all the grasses receive potency from the Torah, as explained above, and their healing energies comes mainly from the compound, as mentioned above. Therefore, the essence is dependent upon the sages of the generation; they know how to interpret the Torah and compound the Torah’s letters, as mentioned above, and through this they receive the energy of all the compounds of all the grasses that receive potency from the Torah.

The main thing, therefore, is having faith in the sages; to be heedful of their honor and in great awe of them. Even if a person sees them doing something which in his opinion is not explicitly in the Torah, or it seems to him that they are going against the Torah, God forbid, he is obligated to believe that they are certainly acting in accordance with the Torah, because the Torah was given over to them. For example, we see that in the Torah it is explicitly stated: “give him forty lashes” (Deuteronomy 25:3), yet they said specifically thirty-nine lashes (Makkot 22b). Based on the interpretations and measures, as were handed over to them, they know that it must be specifically thirty-nine lashes. Therefore, a person has to have faith in the sages; he has to disregard his own intellect and knowledge, and rely solely on them, for it is to them that the Torah has been given over for interpretation, as mentioned above.