# Torah 30 - A Garden Of Knives

> מקור: https://rabenu.app/books/kitvey-en/30/torah-30/

a) Perception of godliness is impossible to gain other than by many 'contractions', from cause to effect, from the Sublime Intellect to the Lower Intellect. This is like a teacher who first gives introductions and easy to grasp ideas in order that they will be understood before coming to the ultimate purpose which is the Sublime Intellect. Therefore, each individual has to ask and search and pray a lot to merit to find and come close to a true tzaddik who is an honest Rebbe, a great and awesome teacher, who is so great that he can instill this Sublime Intellect and make it understood; that is to say, he can give perceptions of godliness to people. This is the main purpose of life.

b) A person has to search for the very greatest of teachers, for one needs the very greatest of Rebbes who can explain this great intellect of perceptions of godliness even to him on his level. However much lower one's level is and however more distant one is from the Holy One, one needs a correspondingly greater Rebbe like we see with the generation that left Egypt; they were on the forty-ninth level of impurity therefore they needed an awesome and mighty Rebbe like Moshe. Similarly, the sicker a person is, the more he has to have an expert doctor. This being the case, a person shouldn't mislead himself by saying that it is enough for him to be close to a simple, kosher Jew who is considered G-d fearing and is somewhat respected; don't say, 'why should I ask for big things and specifically search for the biggest tzaddik; it's enough that first I be like an ordinary pious Jew.' (Some people mistakenly claim this.) Don't make a mistake by saying this, rather, each person, according to how he really feels in his soul his own worthlessness and distance from the Holy One, has specifically to find and come close to a really great and true tzaddik who can cure his soul. The very greatest Rebbe is a wonderful craftsman who can 'clothe' and contract this Sublime Intellect, these perceptions of godliness, even to those who are very small and far from holiness.

( Editor's note: See Sanhedrin,32: "The Rabbis taught, "Righteousness, righteousness pursue", means search for the best Jewish court of law. Rebbe Eliezer went to Lod to find Rebbe Yochanan ben Zakai. See the explanation of the Meharshah, who says that it's known that Rebbe Yochanan was the greatest Rabbi of the generation. The Or Hachaim on this verse says that it comes to warn us that we should always search for the greatest rabbis of each generation and not make do with the small ones even if it means making a big effort. )

c) This is an aspect of hairs, for the radiation of light from the brain comes out in the hair. The Sublime Intellect, which is perceptions of godliness, is clothed in the Lower Intellect. These hairs represent measures (in Hebrew, hair and measure are the same letters) which are letters of the Torah as it says in Tikkunei Zohar,70. For the mitzvot are the wisdom of the Creator; every mitzvah has its own measure and limit and letters and words etc which are contractions. These contractions contain the wisdom of the Creator and they are an example of this 'clothing' mentioned before by which we can get a perception of godliness. Every single letter in the Torah and every mitzvah is a contraction. That means that we obtain perception of godliness through them.

 ( Editor's note: That is what the Mishneh in Chagiga means when it says that 'there are Jewish laws that are like mountains dependent on a hair.' That is to say, they are dependent on small clues in the Torah, so they are like a mountain, in importance, dependent on a hair, a contraction and clue.)

d) To merit to this Lower Intellect is impossible other than by hating the desire to profit, hating money to the utmost degree. For the Lower Intellect is an aspect of black hair (Tikkun,70) which is like the black of the eye (the pupil). That is what it says, "I am black but beautiful." (Song of Songs,1). The reason is that the black of the eye collects and contracts all the big things which are included and seen in it. This is how one sees and perceives the thing one observes. So also, this Lower Intellect, the 'blackness', contracts the pleasantness and beauty of the Sublime Intellect. The black hair is from the side of Kingdom as well as the hate of money. For the Lower Intellect is an aspect of Kingdom, the lower wisdom of each world, which governs that world. However, by the love of money, this Kingdom falls into the realm of blackness of the Other Side, melancholy and sadness. As a result, the intellect falls into foolishness and sadness, an aspect of "with sadness you shall eat bread" (Gen.3). And he falls from that intellect into foolishness and sadness. Then the husks and the Other Side surround it from all sides with evil. This is an aspect of "And the people went about and collected" (Numbers,11:8) "Went about" (in Hebrew, 'shatoo') alludes to (sh'toot) "with foolishness" (Zohar, II: 63-64). This is the opposite of wisdom and causes a person to follow his desire for money.

e) Each person, according to the aspect of the lower wisdom that he has (since each person has an aspect of Kingdom, lower wisdom), must draw life-force into it. The essence of this life-force comes from the Light of the Face, as it says, "In the light of the King's countenance" (Proverbs,16:15). That is why we are commanded three times a year to "appear before the Face of G-d" (Deut.16:15). This is in order to gain the Light of the Face which shines during the three Festivals and which bestows life-force to the intellect; by this we achieve perceptions of godliness. It is through the joy of the three Festivals that we merit to the Light of the Face, for the essence of the Light of the Face is joy, as it says, " A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance" (Proverbs,15:13).

f) However much more one performs mitzvot during the whole year, so one merits to joy during the three Festivals because our main joy is from the mitzvot. And the root of joy is in the heart. Each person, according to what he feels in his heart of the Greatness of the Holy One and His Unity, is fitting for him to feel very great joy with each mitzvah he performs because he merits to do the will of G-d, the Creator and Eternal One. The main joy of each mitzvah that is done throughout the year is felt in the heart, as it says, "You put gladness in my heart" (Psalms,4:8). The heart of the entire year is the three Festivals, an aspect of "These are the Festivals of G-d" - 'eleh mo'adeh Yhvh' (Numbers,23), the initial letters of which spell e'm'y, alluding to 'em l'bina' and bina liba (literally, understanding in the heart) and joy, as mentioned, which gathers in the heart; they are the three Festivals, therefore they are days of joy. Each person must be very strong in this, to draw upon himself this holy joy of the mitzvot which is the joy of the three Festivals, all through the year. Even more so is this true of the Festival itself that a person has to be very happy indeed, like it says, "Rejoice in your Festival" (Deut.16) for then all the joy of the mitzvot is focused; we can't measure or estimate this happiness, as each person can realize in his heart. By this joy of the three Festivals, we merit to perception of godliness. This is why it says that "each person must go to see the face of his rabbi on the Festival." (Succah,27). This is in order to receive the Light of the Face and give vitality to the aspect of Kingdom.

g) The main intelligence is only the true intelligence of the true tzaddikim who, through this intelligence, merit to perceptions of godliness and who are able to instill these perceptions into all those who follow them. All the secular wisdoms are total foolishness in relation to this true intelligence. Sometimes, through our iniquities, this intellect falls into the foolish wisdoms of the nations and the Other Side, Heaven forbid, and then this causes their wisdoms and rulership to overcome us. This means that they draw strength from holy Kingdom, an aspect of the lower intelligence, which exists in each world of the Four Worlds and which is an aspect of the wisdom that governs the world. All the wisdoms of all the nations are under the lower wisdom of holiness and draw strength from it. Who could stand the huge noise of the cries and screams when this aspect of Kingdom, which is wisdom, falls into the realm of the Other Side! This is what it says, "The cry of him who rules among fools" (Eccl.9:17). When the fool (the evil urge who is called the "old, foolish king" (Eccl. 9), an aspect of the Kingdom of the Orther Side) wants to get clever, he draws into his foolish wisdom the true wisdom which is the intelligence of perceptions of godliness. Then they say that only they are clever and no wisdom is like theirs, but it is a mistake for all their nourishment is from the fall of holy intelligence. About this, the Holy One Himself cries out, so to speak, as it says, "The Lord shall roar from on high" (Jeremiah, 25:30). "Because of His habitation", relates to the Kingdom which falls, Heaven forbid, into exile among the Four Kingdoms of the Other Side which are the four exiles.

h) Every person has to see to it that he cuts, separates and raises the holy wisdom from among the four exiles and to return it to its source. To this one merits by giving charity and doing kindness, for this raises the intelligence from exile and subdues the ruling power of the nations. Therefore, each person, according to his level, has to make a constant effort to extract the Shechinah, meaning the intelligence, from exile by performing kindness. By this we subdue the secular wisdoms and are saved from the yoke of the Kingdom of Evil; then we merit to perceptions of godliness.

i) Corresponding to the four Kingdoms of holiness of the Four Worlds (Atzilut,B'ria,Yetzira,Asiah, as is known), from Avraham, the man of charity, came four sons about whom the Torah spoke- the wise son, the wicked one, the one who was simple and the one who didn't know to ask. Yitzchak represents the wise one "who gladdens his father" (Proverbs,10). Esau is the wicked one and Ya'acov is the simpleton, as it says, "Ya'acov was a simple man" (Gen. 25). Yishmael is the son who doesn't know how to ask, that's to say he doesn't know how to repent and to ask forgiveness from the Holy One for those sins that he doesn't know about, which is the main repentance, like it says, "What I didn't steal, I must return" (Psalms,69,5). All this is what it says about Avraham that he established the morning prayer (Shachrit) for the initial letters of 'shachrit' allude to the initial letters of the four kinds of sons. They correspond to the Four Kingdoms mentioned previously. Shachrit also alludes to the blackness (shachrot) which is the Lower Intelligence, as above. Avraham merited to rectify it because he hated money as it says about the money from Sodom which he despised; he didn't take "even from a thread to a shoe lace" (Gen.14). He always performed charity in order to raise the Kingdom of Holiness from among the Other Side. For this reason he ran after the four kings in order to subdue them for they are the aspect of the four kingdoms of the Other Side.

 j) Parallel to these four, there are four mitzvot on every Festival in order to raise the four aspects of the holy Kingdom from among the Other Side and to nullify them. On Pesach we drink four goblets of wine; on Shavuot we received the Torah which was repeated four times ( G-d to Moshe,Moshe to Aharon, Aharon to the Elders and from them to all Israel) as it explains in Eruvin,54; in Succot there are the four species ( palm branch, myrtles, willows and etrog ); all these correspond to the four aspects of the Kingdom of Holiness which we have to raise to the Light of the Face by the joy of the mitzvot which are gathered together on the Festivals. To achieve this, a person must return in repentance during the Festival out of joy; by this we bring the Redemption closer.

k) The main way to reveal this loving-kindness (charity) is by accepting reproach and ethics from true tzaddikim even though sometimes their reprimand is by way of abusing and disgracing us. Through this we merit to give charity and perform loving-kindnesses.

l) We have to accept this reproach from the true tzaddikim even though they may disgrace us sometimes. We have to judge them on the side of merit for "a person is not to be blamed during the hour of his anguish"(Baba Batra,16); they suffer a great deal because of us. All our affairs and mundane conversations are certainly bad by their standards. Even what is really good for us, such as our prayers, which by our standards are good, are also bad to them, for our prayers disturb them a lot for our prayers contain all sorts of extraneous thoughts and confusions. These prayers, with all their confusions come to the tzaddikim to be elevated by them, therefore if they reprimand us sometimes in a degrading manner, we must accept it, as explained.

m) Mixed up ideas and confusions are called 'folly',(in Hebrew the same word as 'praise', 'tehila' or prayer) as it says, "His angels He charges with folly" (Job,4,18). They are so called because they come to a person especially during prayer and reciting praises. They come for two reasons: or they come to be rectified, for now is the time to rectify the holy sparks which need rectification; alternatively, they come to confuse a person in his prayer because he is not worthy to pray. One has to make a very big effort to overcome these confusions and extraneous thoughts which arrive during the prayers, for all the foolishness and confused thoughts that a person occasionally has, and the mixed up mind that a person has throughout the day at certain times, whatever it is, comes back to him specifically during his prayers. These thoughts come into his heart while he is praying and confuse him a lot. They come and go up into his heart at that time specifically. For this reason one has to be very strong and overcome all these thoughts. Yet with all this, the prayers come to the tzaddikim to be elevated, an aspect of "For My praise I will refrain for you" (Isaiah,48:9). All the praises come to the tzaddik who is an aspect of Meshiach, an aspect of the nostrils, an aspect of "The breathe of our nostrils, Meshiach of G-d" (Lam.4:20). For Meshiach smells the truth, as it says, "And his delight" (literally 'smell') "shall be in the fear of G-d" (Isaiah,11:3), that's to say, prayers, an aspect of "who fears the Lord, shall be praised." (Proverbs,31:30). That's to say, he smells and feels the prayers that he receives from each person, each one according to his level, for all the confusions of each person are within the prayers.

n) The tzaddik knows which prayers come from pious Jews and which come from other people. By this he knows to reprimand them, for according to the boldness and the Torah of each person he knows if the person's prayer was worthy or not. There are two kinds of boldness; boldness of holiness and boldness from the Other Side. It is impossible to merit to Torah other than by holy boldness, to be bold like a leopard, against those who cause dissention and stand in the way as it says in the Shulchan Aruch,Orach Chaim, par.1 that he shouldn't be ashamed before the mockers. According to one's holy boldness, so one merits to Torah and to draw down true Torah innovations into the world. The opposite is also true, to the degree that a person has evil boldness, he draws Torah from the Other Side. Then, according to the Torah, and according to one's boldness, one merits to prayer, for prayer also comes from holy boldness, that a person is bold enough to ask from the Holy One everything that he needs, even to ask for wonders. If a person wanted to feel ashamed of his deeds in the light of the greatness of G-d, he certainly wouldn't be able to open his mouth to pray at all. Therefore, according to the holy boldness that he has against those who cause obstacles, he merits to true Torah, as mentioned above; so also he merits to intense prayer. So, the tzaddik, by seeing the boldness and Torah of each person, knows from the prayer that confused him where the boldness came from and knows who to reprimand.

o) From the voice of a person one can know his aspect of Kingdom. For there is an aspect of Kingdom to every person and it is noticeable in his voice, like it says, "It is not the voice of mastery" (Exodus,32,18). Therefore, Shaul understood from the voice of King David that he is strong in the aspect of Kingdom. He asked, "Is this the voice of my son, David" (Shmuel,1:21). He was surprised by the strength of David's voice and understood that it is actually the voice of a king; Shaul wanted to raise his own voice above that of David but couldn't. That is what it says that "Shaul raised his voice and cried" (ibid). His voice was low, an aspect of the sound of low crying, so he said to David, "I know that you will certainly rule" as the king. This he knew by the voice of David.

 In Your bountiful mercy and great loving-kindness, have mercy on us and save us so that we can welcome the three Festivals- Pesach, Shavuot and Succot- with great holiness and immense joy. Let us honour the Festivals with all sorts of honour, with special food and drink, clean clothes and rest from work; with a good feeling in the heart and great happiness. Let us pray with great devotion as is proper, without any confusing thoughts. Especially let me be happy with all the mitzvot that are focused in the Festival so that I can take this happiness with me throughout the entire year. Merit us to be very, very happy and phenomenally joyful during the Festival that You chose us from all the nations and raised us above all the tongues. Please have mercy on us and help us to perform the four mitzvot of each Festival with absolute perfection so that we merit to the Light of the Face and can raise the Shechinah out of its exile among the Four Kingdoms of evil. Through all this joy of the holy mitzvot, may I repent perfectly, even in regard to sins that I wasn't aware of or have forgotten. As a result of all this happiness and holiness throughout the year, enable me to always gain perceptions of godliness and be aware at all times of Your exaltedness.

(Prayer 30)

Your greatness, G-d is beyond measure for no mind can grasp You at all. However, because of Your great mercy and grace, You wish to bestow good to Your creatures. You constricted Your godliness in several stages to make it perceivable to us, from the first cause down to the caused, from the upper intellect down to the lower intellect. You bestowed strength to the true tzaddikim to ascertain Your godliness and know Your exultedness. You have graced them with understanding, wisdom and intellect so that they are capable of instilling perception of godliness in our lowly minds. When You began to reveal Your godliness through Moshe, extracted us from 49 Gateways of Impurity and yet instill in us the perceiption of 49 Gateways of Holiness. He brought us closer to Your service and gave us the Torah and its holy mitzvot which are all constrictions which enable us to perceive Your godliness, for every letter and mitzvah of Your holy Torah provides us with the power to achieve knowledge and to ascertain Your godliness. By the greatness of Moshe and his immense virtue, he was able to instil in even the very lowliest of Jews perceptions of godliness.

So now I have come before You, G-d, my G-d and G-d of my Fathers. Please teach me and show me in which path and which advice I also can merit to perceiveYour godliness. I was created for this purpose You know, I was only created and brought into this lowly world in order to pursue this ultimate purpose of ascertaining perceptons of Your godliness.

Master of the World, You know that no-one can instill in us perceptions of godliness other than the truly great and unique tzaddikim of the generation. We know ourselves, our immensely low spiritual level and distance from holiness, therefore we need a true spiritual leader of the most sublime stature. However much more a sick person becomes weaker, so he needs a greater doctor. In Egypt when we were in the depths of the 49 Gateways of Impurity, no one could help us other than Moshe. Now that we have fallen into this great exile, in body and soul, into greater depths that in Egypt, we have no –one to help us other that the greatest of tzaddikim who is an aspect of Moshe.

Please, help and save us. Forgive me for my many sins. Grant me good advice and save me for Your Name’s sake. Merit me to come close to You, from now on, no matter what happens. And, by this, enable me to gain perceptions of Your godliness with truth, perfect faith, holiness, great purity and real humility. Protect me and save me from the craving for money so that no desire for money enters my heart at all. Rather, let me hate the power of money with the utmost hate. Likewise, save me from the bother and struggle to make a living so that my mind will not become confused. Let me not put my mind into any worldy business. On the contrary, may my mind, heart, soul and body always cleave to You and yearn for You. Let me really long to perceive Your exaltedness with perfect faith until I achieve perfect holy wisdom, the upper wisdom and lower wisdom and can thus continually gain true perceptons of Your godliness. Merit me to new, genuine perceptions and knowledge of Your exaltedness with a real desire for holy faith. Grant me knowledge, understanding and intellect so that I will be able to instill perceptions of godliness in many other people, with holiness and great purity as Your desire. Merit me, in Your great compassion to reveal and publicise Your godliness, exaltedness and lordship to all peoples of the world.

And so, in Your great compassion, extract us from this bitter exile, an exile of body, soul and holy money. They have all sunk in this very great and bitter exile. Please raise the Shechinah and the Community of Israel from their exile, from among the four kingdoms. It has already been many years that the true kingdom of holiness, which means in all four worlds, have fallen from its throne because of our many sins. It has been given over to the rule of the four kingdoms.As a result, we have been exiled from our Land, materially and spiritually. We have gone from one exile to another. Our strength has run out; our hands are powerless. Because of this personal exile has overcome each one of us. This is the exile of the soul throught the physical desires of this world and its vanities. All this happens to us because we are among the nations; we have learnt from their deeds. Let Your cries, roars and immense shouting be heard over the exile of the Shechinah and the People of Israel. Hear the cries and screams of the Shechinah and the People of Israel who cry out with a bitter voice about the distress of our souls when the nations overcome us each day. It is not enough they want to rule over us in body and money; they also want to overcome us with their mistaken, foreign wisdoms. Many of our Jewish brothers have already been caught in their evil net and trap. Please, please save and rescue us and our brothers together with all the seed of the Jewish People from their net which is now spread to catch us. There was never ever anything like this in previous times. Grant us perfect faith so we can make You King over us, our souls and all our limbs and sinews at all times. Have mercy on us, for who can stand to hear the screams of the Holy One and the Shechinah. May our hearts always shout out to You until You haver mercy on us.

Master of the Universe, Your Kingdom is forever. Your rule exists in each generation. Have compassion over Your Kingship which spreads through all the four worlds. Redeem, extract and elevate the Shechinah and Your Kingship from among the nations. Raise Your holy Kingship and the Jewish People from the exile of the four kingdoms. Speedily, uproot, break and subdue the kingdom of evil during our lifetime. Furthermore, uproot, break and nullify all the foreign wisdoms, philosophies and atheism from the world.

Please have mercy on us and send us true tzaddikim who will always reproach us in an open way but with love hidden within it. Let our hearts and ears accept their reproach even if it is sometimes harsh. Despite this, may we accept their words of reproach with love and great joy. Merit us, as a result, to repent fully and reveal to us Your great love for us through the good reproach from the tzaddikim. Then, as a result of our merging in the attribute of loving-kindness, merit us to cut, separate and elevate the kingdom of holiness from out of the four kingdoms of the Other Side.

In Your bountiful mercy and great loving-kindness have mercy upon us, save us that we merit to welcome all the three Festivals – Pesach, Shavuot and Succot – with great holiness and phenomenally great joy. Let honour all the Festivals and Holy Days with all sorts of honour, might and glory; with special food and drink, clean clothing and rest from work; with good heartedness, great happiness, tremendous devotion in prayer and wonderful spiritual awakening, as is proper for a Jew to pray and behave on a Holy Day. Grant us help to perform many commandments during the year, in great holiness and tremendous happiness. Let the happiness of all the commandments throughout the year gather together into the holy heart (of the year) which is the three Festivals. By this, may we really merit to the happiness of the Festival, as You desire, as it says: “And you shall rejoice in Your Festival”. Let us be very, very happy and phenomenally joyful in all the three Festivals. “We will be glad and rejoice in You”, that You chose us from all the nations and raised us above all the tongues, until we merit to rise to see and be seen in the radiance of the Countenance of the Lord.

Let us be worthy to fulfill all the commandments that are customary in each Festival by which we raise the Divine Presence which is like the letter ‘daled’ [having the numerical value of four] to the light of the Countenance (Or Ha Panim). These commandments are – on Pesach, the four cups of wine; on Shavuot, the receiving of the Torah which is ‘the system of learning each thing four times for each individual’; and on Succot there are four species together with the Lulav (palm branch). Please Lord, have mercy upon us and let us merit to really fulfill perfectly all these awesome commandments at their appointed time, their exact time, on every single Festival, together with all the rest of the holy, awesome commandments on every Festival.

Please help us fulfill them in absolute perfection, with very, very great happiness and joy, with fear and love in such a way that we merit to raise the Kingdom of Holiness to Or Ha Panim which radiates during the three Festivals. Let us merit to return in perfect repentance before You as a result of the happiness on each of the Holy Days. In Your bountiful mercy let me repent perfectly even with regard to the transgressions that I do not know or that I do not remember.

Master of the World, You know how far I am from the holiness of the happiness of the Holy Festivals. Take pity and have mercy upon me out of Your bountiful compassion. Out of Your immense loving-kindness, may we welcome the Holy Days with great holiness and immense happiness until we raise the Kingdom of Holiness from out of the four kingdoms and thus raise it to the radiance of the Countenance of the Lord…May I achieve this holy happiness at all times until I merit to a perception of Your Divinity and knowledge of Your exaltedness together with a real, wholehearted yearning for Your belief, with happiness and good –heartedness, great holiness and purity.

Grant me a holy boldness towards You so that I merit to strengthen myself and make a great effort to pray with all my boldness and might. May I strengthen and encourage my heart so as to hope for You and look forward to Your compassion. Let me be shameless towards You so as to always ask, pray and plead before You for all that I lack in my service of the Lord. Let me never be too ashamed or disgraced before You to ask for great and awesome things, to ask that You perform incredible wonders for me.

Master of the World, everything is revealed before You; You know the immense and numerous confusions which happen to me most of the time and how mixed-up my mind is when I begin to pray and plead before You, such that I cannot even say one word of prayer properly. All the confusions that I have at various periods or during the whole day, come into my mind specifically at the time of prayer and want to nullify my prayer. Because of this, my prayer is very mixed up with all sorts of wasteful, disorganized, strange and extraneous thoughts and with so very, very many confusions as to be beyond number. I do not know what to do! Because of the immense confusion that I have I do not know any way to stand up against these many confusions. I have no one upon whom I can rely for support other than my Father in Heaven.

Take pity, have mercy upon me. Save me. Save my prayer from all sorts of disorder of the mind, from all sorts of extraneous thoughts, bad thoughts and confusions that exist in the world. Help me and let me merit to bind my thoughts to the words of prayer in a very strong, firm knot, until I merit to pray with devotion. May my prayers, entreaties and requests be pure and firm, refined and clean from all dross and waste. Spare me and have pity upon me; do it for Your sake, not for my sake. I have no hope other than my prayer and entreaties.

…Help me and save me from now on, from all sorts of evil thoughts and bad reflections, from confusions and disorder of the mind. May my thoughts always be pure and clean, holy and pure. And may I merit to purify and sanctify my thoughts to the utmost, especially at the time of prayer, such that no confusion or extraneous thoughts or any thought which is not to do with prayer, even if if it is a holy thought, come to my mind at all at the time of prayer. Rather, may I merit to be in great awe and fear throughout all the prayers when I pray. Let me not hear any person or anything in the world other than You alone. May I pray with great devotion in the utmost perfection. May I merit to connect my prayer to all the true tzaddikim in our generation and to all the true tzaddikim who rest in the earth. Let them receive my prayer, refine and purify it and save it from every foe, ambusher and accuser on the way. Let them raise it up as a sweet fragrance before Your Throne of Glory together with all the prayers of Your Nation, Israel. May it rise up to be a crown for Your head.

Take pity on me. Be gracious to me. Have mercy upon me and save me. Let me merit to a holy boldness so that I may always strengthen myself at the time of prayer and let me discard any shame so that I will not be ashamed before You. Then may I be bold and ask of You all sorts of the greatest requests in the world that relate to truly serving You. Bring me closer to You in all sorts of ways; perform with me incredible wonders – raise me from the lowest of the low levels of spirituality to the most lofty, holy attributes. May I quickly merit to reach all the highest levels of holiness so that I merit to ascertain Your G-dliness in the most sublime manner, like the true prophets and great, awesome tzaddikim.

May I keep the path of our forefathers who trusted in You and did not feel ashamed of asking all the great things from You as is written: “Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted and You delivered them.” They shouted out to You and were saved; in You they trusted and were not ashamed. For You know that, according to Your immense greatness and lofty majesty and our great lowliness and worthlessness, it would not be possible to even start to stand before You and ask for anything, even the smallest thing in the world – for who am I that I should merit to pray before the Lord, my G-d and G-d of my Fathers.

You know Lord, You are very great and Your Name is exalted by every blessing and song of praise. How can we bold and insistent to ask such great things for You; especially a person such as myself, blemished, despised and rejectied of men as I am!! However, in Your bountiful mercy You taught us by Your true tzaddikim and informed us of Your good ways that You desire to perform loving-kindness and do much good. You grant us a holy boldness form Yourself and You want us to be bold and ask from You great and awesome things. You want us to plead and beg of You a great deal, for days and years, until we merit to be victorious over You, so to speak; to have our requests answered mercifully by You, as it is written: “I am the Lord, your G-d, who brought you out of the land of Egypt: open your mouth wide and I will fill it”.

31.THERE IS A WELL

a) All the heavenly constellations are directed by charity and it is through charity that all the blessings are drawn into the world. However, only on Shabbat are the blessings perfect for Shabbat is an aspect of faith. The main importance of charity is that it expresses faith. Therefore, the main radiance of the light of charity like the sun and its perfection is only on Shabbat which represents faith, and faith is the source of all blessings.

b) The perfection of all things is faith, for without faith all things are lacking. So also with the Torah, which is understanding; its perfection is only by faith for all the Torah stands on faith as the Sages said, "Chabakkuk came and established everything on faith" (Makot,24). So also, the perfection of the constellations which represent charity, is through faith, since the main thing is faith.

c) By keeping Shabbat, which is an aspect of faith, charity is perfected and one merits to all the blessings. That is the reason that the Tanna began the Gemorra Shabbat with the mitzvah of charity (a poor man standing outside takes charity from the householder). This alludes to all of the above; the fact that the perfection of all things is charity and by keeping Shabbat one merits to faith. (This is what it says in the Shabbat song of L'cha Dodi, that Shabbat is the source of all blessings.)

d) The main deed of the charity is what the poor person does for the householder (See Midrash Ruth, Rashi there). This corresponds to the movement of the constellations, as the Sages said (Shabbat,151) , "because of this thing (i.e. charity) there is a wheel (system of constellations) that revolves in the world." There are two directions of movement: the main one is from west to east, which is the natural one. Then there is the movement which is by force, from east to west when the constellation of the day spins and returns from east to west, pulling with it all the constellations. The poor person represents the west, as it says, "From the west I will gather you" (Isaiah,43), for the poor man gathers charity. The householder who gives represents the east, as it says, "From the east I will bring your seed" (ibid). Seed alludes to charity as it says, "Sow your seeds of charity"(Hoshea,10). The main movement is from west to east, from the poor person to the householder.

e) The main way to sustain and bring vitality to one's faith is only by guarding the brit. Therefore people travel to tzaddikim for the holy Shabbat for the main holiness of the true tzaddikim is through their perfect guarding of the brit in all aspects. For this reason we travel to tzaddikim for Shabbat to receive from them the holiness of Shabbat which is faith, which itself is the perfection of all things.

f) All the constellations and the conducting of the world, meaning "the laws of Heaven and Earth"(Jer.30), are all dependent on the guarding of the brit. This includes all the blessings and bounty that come from them.

g) All the suffering that a person has while on the road is all because of a blemish to the brit. For this reason, the Sages said that a man should have relations with his wife before he begins to travel (Yevamot,62). This is so that he won't be in an aspect of "All flesh corrupted his way" (Gen.6:12): that's to say, by guarding the brit he won't have any suffering on the roads.

h) So also, a person has to give charity before he goes on the road like it says, "Righteousness will go before him, and walk in the way of his steps." (Psalms,85:14). By giving charity one lights the star (of the person on the road) for charity radiates in all the constellations. By this, one nullifies any delay on the road for the delay stems from the delay in the stars that don't shine perfectly. As a result, a person is saved from any delay or suffering on the road. (See Torah 264: Charity is also a rectification for the brit)

i) There are two aspects of guarding the brit. One is the Upper Covenant which is the firmament which separates the upper and lower waters, an aspect of a free man. By this one merits to freedom and makes generations. The second type is guarding that which is permitted from that which is not permitted. Every person has to have these two aspects of the brit, meaning to be a tzaddik and a scholar. Someone who has the first type of guarding the brit is called a tzaddik. A scholar is he who learns the rules of what is permitted and what is prohibited and keeps the rules. When a person merits to guard the brit at both these levels he is similar to an angel of G-d and merits to perfect faith; by this, he attracts and draws down all the blessings and bounty.

j) Through guarding the brit, one reveals the attribute of loving-kindness 'in the mouth of the brit' (Zohar,3:142A) which is love and longing for the Holy One. Holy longing is a very precious thing indeed. Longing makes souls which are vowel points to the letters of the Torah, an aspect of 'points of silver'. That's to say, by the longing, vowel points, which are an aspect of souls, are made. This is what it says, "My soul longs and faints" (Psalms,84:3) From the very longing and fainting for the Holy One my soul is made.

k) The vowel points are the vitality and movement of the letters, therefore they are like a soul. Just like the vitality and every movement of a person come from his soul, and without it he would be a lifeless form, so also with the letters, they have no life or movement without the points for through this the letters move themselves, become joined and combined. These vowel points are made by the longing for G-d which is an aspect of souls and the mating and joining together of the vowels is an aspect of the joining of souls.Then, by the points, the letters themselves join and combine, like the joining of bodies. This is the secret of the confession (literally, 'falling on the face', said after the Amida in the morning prayer), the intention of which is to raise the soul, called the raising of 'feminine waters' and create a unification for the longing for G-d is itself an aspect of raising 'feminine waters' which makes the soul which rises and makes a unification and mating. The main making of the soul is by longing for G-d, each person according to his level, as he longs to reach a higher level. This is what creates the soul in potential.

l) By longing the uniting is made. By longing for something the soul is made. Then the object returns the longing to the person. This also makes soul and the two souls unite. Longing for the object is the feminine aspect and this makes a feminine soul and the object's longing for him is the masculine desire and makes a masculine soul (Zohar,Pt.1,85B). Afterwards they come to the aspect of pregnancy and birth as the Zohar explains. New souls are thus completed and go out to act in the world. The letters of the Torah activate everything; they are the vitality of each thing and direct the entire world. But they have no power to act other than through the vowel points which are the aspect of longing. If a person longs for evil he makes evil vowel points which join and combine with the letters and create evil results. But, on the other hand, if he longs to return to G-d in repentance, he makes good vowel points and this moves the letters and they join together so that they bring about good deeds in the world.

m) The holy Shabbat is an aspect of faith and the holiness of the brit, through which a person merits to love and holy longing and good yearning and this makes holy souls. Therefore, at the beginning of Shabbat a Jew gets a holy longing when he reminds himself of the loss of his extra soul after Shabbat as the weekdays begin. Thus the Sages said, "When Shabbat comes, a person says, woe that my soul is getting lost" (Betza,16). That's to say, by longing for this soul, this itself creates the extra soul of Shabbat. For the main coming about of holy souls is through holy yearning, as mentioned.

n) Each person, according to his yearnings, from which souls are made, makes vowel points for the letters of the Torah. At first they are a simple light, (as explained in Torah 36) for from the Mouth on High there comes out just a simple light. But in accordance with a person's longings, he creates a shape to the letters which were previously only a lifeless form. By the points from the yearning, vessels are made. If a person has holy cravings and longings he shapes the letters of the Torah and explains them for the good; he makes vessels with which to receive good. But if he yearns for evil, then he creates vessels to receive evil, Heaven forbid. According to what he longs for, he shapes and accomplishes in the world, for the Torah contains good and bad, like the Sages said, " it contains the elixir of life and that of death"(Yoma,72) and this is what it says, "The righteous walk in them but the transgressors stumble in them" (Hoshea,14:10).

 o) But, to bring the soul from potential to actuality one has to speak out the yearnings. By this one finishes the making of the soul and it goes from potential to actuality, like it says, "My soul went out when he spoke" (Song of Songs, 5:6). This is also like it says, "He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him and hear their cry and save them" (Psalms, 145:19). For through the desire, which is the yearning, the soul is created in potential and then his desire and will is created in, an aspect of "He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him". Then "their cry", when they speak out their longings, by this He "will hear their cry and save them" for speaking out completes the soul bringing it from potential to actuality and then the letters combine and create a vessel (See Torah 34 'for speech is the vessel to receive bounty') to receive good and the fulfillment of their desire in actuality. For according to the soul he makes in potential or actuality so vowel points are made for the letters and patterned such that they make and actuate his request and desire.Similarly, the daily prayers are arranged like this, that one has to speak out with the lips holy yearning and then the soul is made in actuality. The essence of the soul is the power of speech, an aspect of "And Man became a speaking soul" (Gen.2) which Unkulus translates as "the talking spirit".

p) This is the virtue of conversing with one's Maker, speaking out one's good yearnings and pining to get out of one's evil and to merit to real goodness. A person has to pray to G-d about this that He have mercy on him and fulfill his good desires. Speak out about all that you lack in the service of G-d that you want and long for it to be fulfilled by the Holy One. Through this he will merit to accomplish with his prayers what he wants, and bring good into the world and one draws good and blessings into all the worlds; it also arouses several Jewish souls to repent. For this reason a person has to train himself to converse with his Maker a great deal every day; this is a very precious thing and can cause to bring the entire world back to the path of good.

q) When a person merits to guard the brit on these two levels, he merits to love of G-d and to holy longings. He gives shape to the letters of the Torah for the good which is an aspect of the elixir of life. Then the letters of the Torah themselves ask him to speak them out so they will be shaped for the good. As a result of this, all one's eating and meals will be an aspect of the "Show Bread" and "his table will affect atonement like the altar." Then all the stars and the constellations and all the non-Jews will exert themselves for his livelihood.

r) The point in general is that yearnings and cravings for holiness are very precious for, through them, when spoken out, the soul comes about and is completed, as mentioned. Sometimes this holy soul which comes out is re-incarnated in a wicked person and this causes him thoughts of repentance such that he may return to the good. The opposite is also true, bad yearnings can cause evil consequences, Heaven forbid. The soul created by bad longings can be re-incarnated into a tzaddik and cause him to sin, Heaven forbid. That is what it says, "There is a vapour" (Eccl.8:14) meaning the vapour of the mouth from where souls come out. For this reason there are tzaddikim to whom deeds like sinners come. This is because they receive the re-incarnated souls of the wicked made from evil longings and this can lead the tzaddikim to thoughts of sinning such that they may eventually sin, Heaven forbid, or they may rectify that soul. So also with the wicked, the opposite, deeds like tzaddikim come to them. They can certainly get thoughts of repentance when they get a holy soul made from holy yearnings which may lead them to repent or to spoil that soul . This is why re-incarnation is called 'gilgul' (literally meaning a spinning wheel) for the souls that come from speaking out, spin around the world (going from the tzaddikim to the wicked and vice versa.)

 s) A Jew reaches perfection when he is both a tzaddik and a Torah scholar, for if he isn't a scholar, the Sages said that "an ignoramus isn't pious." And just being a scholar is surely nothing, for a person can be a scholar but also completely wicked, Heaven forbid, for "if one doesn't merit, it becomes the elixir of death." Therefore, one has to be a scholar with regard to the Torah and righteous in good deeds (that's to say, a tzaddik, as explained in the Zohar, Pt.3:213). Then he will be like an angel of G-d and shape the letters of the Torah for the good. Someone who makes the mistake of thinking that learning alone is everything, this is like Acher who "cut the branches" (separated the Torah from G-d), Heaven save us.

t) Even a perfect tzaddik, who is a tzaddik and scholar, sometimes falls from his level, as is known, for it is impossible to always remain on one level. Then, if he wants to strengthen himself with the aspect of being a scholar, which remains even then, this is not good; rather, he has to strengthen himself with fear of G-d and his good points that still remain in him.

u) Because of these two aspects that are found in the rabbi and tzaddik: the aspect of being a scholar alludes to the aspect of 'angel' which is the angel called Mattat, a reflection of the Mishneh; and the aspect of tzaddik, who is similar to his Maker to be righteous in good deeds, an aspect of the 'Lord of Hosts'. Since the Rabbi contains both of these powers, he contains both the elixir of life and of death. Therefore, it is possible to come close to him and find in him indications that he "cut the branches" or, the opposite, that he "entered and left the Orchard in peace". There are four types of people who approach the true tzaddikim, like the four who entered the Orchard (Chagiga,14).There are those who learn a straight path from the tzaddik and become pious such that , in the end, they become tzaddikim, an aspect of Rebbe Akiva, who entered and left in peace. Then there are those like Ben Azai who 'looked and was damaged', meaning that his heart became so enthused by the great light that the tzaddik shone into him that he couldn't control his enthusiasm and therefore went out of his mind. Then there are those who 'look and die' like Ben Zoma; he was enthused far beyond his level such that he died (not wanting to return to This World). They were both tzaddikim, and also about them it says, "tzaddikim walk in them, but…" However, there are those who come with crookedness and complaints in their heart; they can find in the tzaddik what they want, that's to say, the desire to deny all faith, become distant and fall away completely from the tzaddik, even opposing him and making fun of him. This is like Acher who "cut the branches". This is an aspect of "the sinners stumble in them". These four levels are what is called 'tzaddik, sinner, servant of G-d, not a servant'. That is what the verse says, "See the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between he who serves G-d and he who does not serve." (Malachi,3,18). All these aspects are found in each individual who wants to enter the service of G-d and come close to the tzaddik and the Rabbi of the generation. This is because the tzaddik has to have these two powers that are in the Torah, the elixir of life and the opposite, Heaven forbid. This is in order to enable the one who approaches to receive as he wants, tzaddikim walk in them etc. as mentioned.