Likutei Halakhot Yoreh Deah

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Likutei Halakhot Yoreh Deah by Nathan of Breslov, translated by Wikisource Yoreh Deah

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Hilkhot Giluach/Laws of Shaving

Halakhah 1

The prohibition of shaving the pe'ot and the beard [zakan, same root as zaken/old/elder], according to what is written in the essay Meishra DeSakina/Bed of Knives in Likutei Moharan #30, that a person's hairs correspond to Chokhmah Tata`ah/the Lower Wisdom, which is the essence of perception [of the Torah], which corresponds to Malkhut/Kingship; see there. And it is necessary to draw life unto it. Therefore we must raise it to the Ohr HaPanim/Light of the Face [of God, as it were] which illuminates via three "legs" which correspond to binah-liba [understanding corresponds to the heart]. And it is necessary to cut it off from the Four [Evil] Kingships which are the Sitra Achra/Other Side so that they will not feed from Chokhmah/Wisdom which corresponds to Malkhut as mentioned, which corresponds to daleit [the letter ד which can be read "de'leit," "which has not," for Malkhut has nothing of itself but only what it receives from the other Sefirot]. And this is accomplished via chesed/kindness/generosity, corresponding to Avraham. And chesed is revealed via tokhacha/rebuke/inspiration; see there.

איסור גילוח הפאות והזקן ע"פ מ"ש במאמר מישרא דסכינא סי' למ"ד שהשערות הם בחי' חכמה תתאה שהוא עיקר ההשגה שהוא בחי' מלכות ע"ש.. וצריך להמשמיך לה חים. ע"כ צרייכן להעלותה אל אור הפנים המאיר בג' רגלים שהם בחי' בינה לבא. וצריך לחתכה מן הד' מלכיות שהם הס"א שלא יהי' להם יניק' מן החכמה בחי' מלכות כנ"ל שהוא בחי' דלית וזה נעשה ע"י חסד בחי' אברהם והחסד נתגלה על ידי התוכחה עיין שם.

And behold, the pe'ot and the beard are the Ohr HaPanim/Light of the Face, Hadrat Panim/honoring the face, corresponding to attainment of wisdom, as is written, "Vehadarta penei zaken/And you shall honor the face of the elder" [Lev. 19:32], since the beard is the glorification of the face, Ohr Hapanim, which corresponds to Wisdom, as is written, "Chokhmat adam ta'ir panav/The wisdom of a man illuminates his face." For the beard corresponds to the Thirteen Midot [Dimensions] of Torah Exposition, as all this is brought in the words of Rabbeinu, see there, that they are the root of attaining wisdom. And therefore the beard and the pe'ot are hairs, because they correspond to perception of wisdom, since the essence of perception corresponds to hairs, which are Lower Wisdom, as written. And this is the aspect of the Thirteen Midot which correspond to the beard, as mentioned, that is, the aspect of measure and constriction for the Upper Intellect, as written there, which is the aspect of hair, aspect of shi`ura d'atvun d'oraita/dimensions of the letters of the Torah, which are aspect of midot. And therefore it is forbidden to pass a razor upon the beard and pe'ot because there [in them] is the root of life and length of days, which corresponds to the beard, as mentioned, and it is injust to wave a life-shortening object upon a life-lengthening one, as Chazal said regarding the altar. And therefore it is forbidden to cut and destroy them, for on the contrary, in them is the root of the ascents of the Lower Wisdom, for they are the Light of the Face as mentioned. And this is the two pe'ot and beard corresponding to three legs which are the Light of the Face as mentioned. For the two pe'ot are aspect of left and right and the beard is in the middle which is aspect of three legs which correspond to the Three Pariarchs who are right, left and center. And the main point of the Light of the Face is the beard, and it is the main point of attainment of wisdom. And by means of the two pe'ot which are aspect of right and left -- which correspond to kindness and rebuke, for kindness is right and rebuke corresponds to stringencies, aspect of the left -- through this we merit to the aspect of beard, aspect of the Light of the Face as mentioned and as written there. But all the rest of the hairs even though they too correspond to the waste products of the brain, despite this because they are in the aspect of waste products, there is feeding of the Sitra Achra from them, for that is where they feed from mainly. And therefore when they grow long it is necessary to cut them, in the aspect of "cut him in four" [I Sam. 15:33 and Rashi there], in order to not give them sustenance from the Lower Wisdom which corresponds to dalet as mentioned. And therefore it is a big mitzvah to take a haircut on the eve of a Festival in order to cut it off from the Four Kingships, so that you can go up [to Yerushalayim] on the Three Festivals which are the Light of the Face as mentioned.

והנה הפאות והזקן הם אור הפנים הדרת פנים בחי' השגת החכמה כמ"ש והדרת פני זקן שהזקן הוא הדרת פנים אור הפנים שהוא בחי' החכמה כמ"ש חכמת אדם תאיר פניו. כי הזקן הוא בחי' שלש עשרה מדות שהתורה נדרשת בהן כמובא כל זה בדברי רבינו ע"ש שהם עיקר השגת החכמה. וע"כ הזקן והפאות הם שערות כי הם בחי' השגת החכמה שעיקר ההשגה הוא בבחי' שערות שהוא החכמה תתאה כמ"ש. וזה בחי' י"ג מדות שהם בחי' הזקן כנ"ל, היינו בחי' מדות וצמצומים להשכל העליון כמ"ש שם שזה בחי' שערות בחי' שיעורא דאתוון דאורייתא שהם בחי' מדות. וע"כ אסור להעביר תער על הזקן והפאות כי שם. עיקר החים והאריכות ימים שזה בחי' זקן כנ"ל ואינו בדין שיונף המקצר על המאריך כשחז"ל לענין מזבח. וע"כ אסור לחתכם ולהשחיתם כי אדרבה שם עיקר עליות החכמה תתאה כי הם אור הפנים כ"ל. וזה ב' פיאות וזקן כנגד ג' רגלים שהם אור הפנים כנ"ל. כי ב' הפאות הם בחי' ימין ושמאל והזקן באמצע שזה בחי' ג' רגלים שהם כנגד ג' אבות שהם ימין ושמאל ואמצע. ועיקר אור הפנים הוא הזקן והוא עיקר השגת החכמה. וע"י ב' הפאות שהם בחי' ימין ושמאל שזה בחי' חסד ותוכחה כי החסד הוא ימין והתוכחה הוא בחי' גבורות בחי' שמאל ועי"ז זוכין לבחי' זקן בחי' אור הפנים כנ"ל כנ"ל וכמ"ש שם. אבל כל שאר השערות אף שהם ג"כ בחי' מותרי מוחין עכ"ז מחמת שהם בבחינת מותרות יש בהם יניקה להס"א כי משם עיקר יניקתם. וע"כ כשנגדלין הרבה צריך לחתכם בבחי' חתכו לד' כדי שלא ליתן להם יניקה מן החכמה תתאה שהוא בחי' ד' כנ"ל. וע"כ. מצוה גדולה לגלח ערב הרגל כיד לחתכה מן הד' מלכיות כדי שתוכל לעלות בשלש רגלים שהם אור הפנים כנ"ל

Halakhah 2

According to the essay "U'vyom haBikurim/And on the day of the firstfruits -- ve'et ha`oravim tziviti lekhalkelekha/I have commanded the ravens to feed you" in Likutei Moharan II #4; take a good look there. For we need to make a vessel and a channel to receive the chesed/kindness, and this is accomplished by yir'ah/awe [of God]. And awe is accomplished by ratzon/[holy] desire. And desire is accomplished mainly by connecting to the root of desire which corresponds to metzach haratzon/"the forehead of the [holy] desire." And opposite this there is the aspect of the metzach hanachash/"the forehead of the Serpent" which is the opposite of the desire. And the metzach hanachash feeds mainly from the elders of the generation who are not complete, for they do not add holiness and knowledge to their days the whole time that they grow older, etc., see there. But tzedakah/charity alleviates this; see there. And this aspect of "shortness of days, full of anger" that is from the blemish of the beards/elders [zekenim] which is aspect of shortness of days -- from this feeds the metzach hanachash which is the aspect of anger, opposite of desire. But via the beard/elder of holiness we merit to desire, aspect of "zaken venaso-panim/the elder and the man of rank [lit. raised face]" (Isa. 9:14); panim/face corresponds to desire; take a good look there.

1. And therefore the Torah warned us to not destroy the the corners of the beard (pe'ot hazaken), God forbid. And the prohibition is mainly with a razor specifically. Because the hairs of the beard correspond the days of oldness, tangibly. For the hairs of the beard are very supernal and lofty lights which have been constricted in the aspect of hairs which are like pipes and constrictions. And this corresponds to days, for days are an aspect of constrictions and dimensions, as brought. And therefore as long as a man ages one day of his life he needs to add more holiness and knowledge each day in order to merit to illuminate light and knowledge on this day. And this is the aspect of hairs, tangibly. And therefore we need to not damage, God forbid, or destroy the corner of the beard, God forbid, in order to not blemish the aspect of the beard, to not give sustenance, God forbid, to the aspect of the metzach hanachash/Forehead of the Serpent, which feeds off of the fallenness of the days of agedness, which is tangibly the waste and falling of the beard's hairs, for the hairs of the beard are aspect of the days of agedness, as mentioned. And the main prohibition is with a razor, which is like a sword, which cuts down the days, because the sword was created to cut down the days of a man, and it is injust for it to wave over that which lengthens which is the holy beard which is aspect of length of days as mentioned. For the razor and sword are the aspect of Esav who was blessed with this, as is written, "Ve`al-charbekha tichyeh/And by your sword shall you live" [Gen. 27:40], and it cuts down the days of a man. For the main shortening of the days of a man God forbid is when he does not add holiness and knowledge each day of his life, as mentioned. And this happens, God forbid, via Esav who is the Samech-Mem who incites the man away from the ways of life and shortens his days thereby, God forbid, as mentioned. And therefore he was blessed with the sword, which shortens the days of a man, as our Rabbis obm explained. And by this itself that he shortens the days of a man God forbid, that is, that he restrains and incites a man from adding holiness to his days as mentioned, by this itself Esav who is aspect of the metzach hanachash gets sustenance, aspect of anger, opposite of [holy] desire, the grip of judgement. For he is aspect of `Amalek who descended from him, who is aspect of metzach hanachash, the root of the naturalistic sophistry, the grip of the overcoming of heresy. For the root of apostasy and heresy is the aspect of Amalek, as brought in the words of Rabbeinu z"l. Hence Esav-Amalek is aspect of shortness of days, filled with anger, for he is aspect of the sword, aspect of the sword of the samekh-mem, who shortens days physically and spiritually, as mentioned. And by this itself he feeds, being aspect of anger, aspect of metzach hanachash, the root of naturalistic sophistry, the opposite of holy will, God forbid. And therefore the prohibition of destroying the beard is mainly with the razor which is like a sword, for it is only justice to not wave the [life-]shortening thing upon the lengthening thing. Because the main prohibition of destroying the beard is in order to not give, God forbid, sustenance to the metzach hanachash from blemish of the falling of the days of elderness which corresponds to destroying the hairs of the beard as mentioned. And therefore the main prohibition is with a razor or sword for by this a person blemishes very, very much, God spare us. For he destroys the holy beard via a razor or sword and gives, God forbid, sustenance to the razor or sword which is the aspect of Esav, aspect of metzach hanachash from the falling of the hairs of the beard God forbid. And therefore the main prohibition is with a razor, for this is the main blemish, to not give sustenance, God forbid, to the aspect of razor or sword which is the aspect of anger, aspect of metzach hanachash from the falling of the hairs of the beard as mentioned.

2. And by this is the made clear and revealed to the eye of an intelligent person that it is because of this that the sophistry of philosophy and heresy overcame exceedingly in the lands of Germany and their likes, for due to our many sins they were taken captive in the homelands of the Accuser and became widely accustomed in this great sin of destroying the corners of the beard. And in truth according to the [kabbalistic] writings and books of holiness, even destruction by other methods permitted by law is also a very, very tremendous blemish, God spare us; the Merciful One save us from that punishment. For all the hairs of the beard are very supernal and lofty and awesome pipes, and there is no one who can conceive and grasp in his mind the astounding loftiness of the holiness of the holy beard, and vice-versa it is unfathomable, God spare us, the punishment of one who destroys and raises his hand and spoils such a lofty holiness. But due to our many sins, over the length of time many of them have broken through the fence, and they transgress five negative commandments boldly and they destroy the beard with an actual razor. Woe for their souls! For evil has been payed abundantly upon them, and by means of this the naturalistic sophistry becomes strong there. For the metzach hanachash which is the root of the naturalistic sophistry feeds from the falling of the beard, as mentioned; understand.

3. And this is the aspect of the prohibition rounding the pe'ah/corner-hairlock of the head. And the pe'ot are essentially next to the padachat which is the metzach/forehead. For the pe'ot are aspect of yir'ah/awe [of God] for pe'ah is gematria of Elokim [=86] which corresponds to yir'ah as it says, "et ha'Elohim yir'a/fear God" (Eccl. 12:13), and the root of yir'ah is by way of the desire, as mentioned. And therefore we let the pe'ot grow next to the forehead because from the aspect of the forehead of the desire, which is the root of the desire, issues forth awe which is the aspect of pe'ot as mentioned. But in order that God forbid the metzach hanachash, which is the root of the naturalistic sophistry, not overcome, which picks up a blemish and apostasy even at the root of the desire, at the metzach haratzon as mentioned --therefore we need to let the corner of the beard grow and not destroy it, God forbid, in order that the metzach hanachash not overcome, God forbid, as mentioned. But via the holy beard the revelation of the desire overcomes -- for the metzach hanachash is suppressed -- so the metzach haratzon overtakes the root of the ratzon and then we merit to awe which is the pe'ot that are next to the forehead as mentioned. And this is the aspect of the prohibition of shaving the pe'ot and the beard, which are from one concept, for they are interdependent, as mentioned. And therefore the entire Judaism depends on this. For this is the main course of the Yisraelites and our main work, that we merit to reach the aspect of "ve`amedu zarim u're`u tzo'nkhem/and strangers shall stand and feed your flocks" etc. (Isa. 61:5). That is, that we should not need to be involved in any business of this world, only in the service of Hashem all day. And this is impossible unless His mercy abounds upon us, the aspect of "ve'atem kohanei Hashem tikarei'u/and you shall be called the priests of Hashem" (ibid. 6). And it is impossible to receive the kindness except through yir'ah, and the awe is accomplished by the desire, through the aspect of the forehead of the desire etc., as all this is explained in the essay mentioned above; take a good look there. And therefore the root of Judaism depends on the pe'ot and the beard, because through this the aspect of the desire is revealed, through the aspect of the beard as mentioned, aspect of the "zaken venaso-panim/the elder and the man of rank (`lifted face')," as mentioned. And when we merit to awe then automatically the kindness is bestowed. For the kindness is always being bestowed abundantly; we just need a vessel and a channel to receive the kindness, as explained there; see there. Hence via the beard and pe'ot we merit to awe and then we merit to receive the bounty of kindness, and then we do not need to be involved in any business, for the world is sustained by His kindness. And then we can be involved in the service of Hashem all day. And this is our main longing of Yisrael, to reach this. And therefore the essence of Judaism depends on the beard and pe'ot as mentioned. See the essay "U'v'yom haBikurim" mentioned above; take a good look at the whole essay.

Halakhah 3

"Lo takifu pe'at roshekhem, velo tashchit et pe'at ziknekha/You shall not round the corners of your head, and you shall not destroy the corners of your beard" (Lev. 19:27). According to the essay Meishra deSakina etc. in Likutei Moharan #30; see the entire essay from beginning to end.t

1. And this is the aspect of the prohibition of shaving the pe'ot and the beard which are hairs adjacent to the face. For the Malkhut/Kingship, the Chokhmah Tata'ah/Lower Wisdom mentioned in that essay corresponds to hairs, aspect of shi`ura de'atvun de'oraita/dimensions of the letters of the Torah, as thoroughly explained in that essay, through which hairs which are aspect of constrictions we can attain perceptions of His Blessed Divinity. And therefore it is prohibited to destroy the hairs of the beard and the pe'ot which are the hairs closest to the face. Because the main life of the Malkhut/Kingship which is the aspect of Chokhmah Tata`ah/Lower Wisdom is from the Light of the Face which shines in the three Legs as mentioned. And therefore the hairs which are close to the Light of the Face, which are the pe'ot and beard, are the main way through which the wisdom and the constriction for the perception of His Blessed Divinity are drawn down, because the root of the life of the Malkhut, Chokhmah Tata'ah, is the aspect of the hairs which is the Light of the Face as mentioned. And this is the aspect of the beard and two pe'ot corresponding to the three Legs in which the Light of the Face shines.

2. And therefore the essence of the Yisraelite religion and the root of Judaism depends on the beard and the pe'ot, and by them is a Jew recognized, "...that [he] is from the seed that Hashem has blessed" (Isa. 61:9), from the seed of Yisrael. And whoever has a "different spirit with him," God forbid, and wants to deny, God forbid, the God of Yisrael, the start of his denial is casting, God forbid, the beard and the pe'ot off of him. For in truth the whole Yisraelite religion depends on the beard and the pe'ot, for all the words of our holy Torah and all the mitzvot are all an aspect of constrictions for perceiving His Blessed Divinity, as explained in that essay. For each and every letter and word of our holy Torah -- Written Torah and Oral Torah -- and each mitzvah and each kosher custom of Yisrael the holy and chosen people, are all dimensions and constrictions through which we merit to attain perceptions of His Blessed Divinity, each one according to what he fits in his heart, according to what he merits via his service and effort in Torah, mitzvot and good deeds, and separation from the bad. And all these constrictions and dimensions, aspect of dimensions of the letters of the Torah, they are all aspect of hairs as mentioned, and they are all drawn down from the hairs of the Holy Beard [so to speak] and Its pe'ot. For each and every hair of the pe'ot and of the Holy Glorious Beard are all aspects of lofty channels and holy constrictions from which all the wisdom of the Torah and the mitzvot are drawn down, through which we perceive His Blessed Divinity. For the thirteen tikunim/"states of perfection" of the Holy Beard correspond to the Thirteen Attributes of Torah exegesis which are the entirety of the holy Torah. Woe for he who touches, God forbid, to destroy one hair of the holy beard and the pe'ot with contempt in his soul and with malice and treachery! Woe for him and woe for his soul! for he uproots himself and his soul from the God of Yisrael and has no portion in Torat Moshe! Woe for their souls, for evil has been recompensed upon them! And because of that, due to our very many sins, the sophistry of philosophy and heresy has become widespread in Germany and its surroundings, for they have completely thrown the yoke of the kingship of Heaven off of them in these generations, and cast off their beards and most of the pe'ot and go dressed in the others' clothing, etc. as mentioned. For it is made clear in that essay that sometimes the Malkhut-Chokhmah Tata'ah falls among the Four [Evil] Kingships. And this is the aspect of the "shout of a ruler among fools" [Eccl. 9:17], that the Malkhut shouts out in a bitter voice, that the Wisdom has fallen amongst the fools, that the fool wants to "be wise," that is, that they want to overcome, God forbid -- via their external wisdoms, which are the philosophy and heresy which are truthfully foolishness, by means of the Chokhmah Tata'ah having fallen -- the aspect of the Malkhut in exile, etc. And therefore when they destroy their beards in Germany, by this they blemish in the constrictions of perceptions of His Blessed Divinity mentioned above, in Lower Wisdom, in Kingship as mentioned. And therefore through this, God forbid, the outside wisdoms are strengthened, which are the wisdoms of philosophy. And therefore they are involved there in the external wisdoms exceedingly, by destroying the corners of their beards with contempt in their souls and transgressing five Torah prohibitions each time. For they are interdependent, as mentioned -- external wisdoms via destruction of the corners of the holy beard as mentioned. But in truth they do not transgress only five prohibitions. For when they destroy the corners of their beard it is as if they transgress the whole entire Torah. For the whole entire Torah depends on this, as mentioned. For via the razor and the knife that they raise upon the holy beard to destroy it, God forbid -- through this, God forbid, the kingship of `Amalek overcomes, who is the entirety of the Four [Evil] Kingdoms, as mentioned in the aforementioned essay. For Amalek is from the seed of the wicked Esav, who feeds from the aspect of "ve`al charbekha tichyeh/and by your sword you shall live" (Gen. 27:40), whose main feeding is when the Lower Wisdom is blemished, the Kingship mentioned above, which is the aspect of "cherev nokemet nekam-brit/the sword that avenges the vengeance of the Covenant" (Lev. 26:25), as explained in that essay. And this is the aspect of, "Cut him in four" [I Sam. 15:33 and Rashi there] mentioned there in that essay. For the main elevation and repair of the Kingship is via repair of the holy sword through which we cut off the Malkhut which is aspect of dalet from the Four [Evil] Kingships in the aspect of "Cut him in four" and subjugate the sword of Esav who is the Kingship of `Amalek, aspect of "And by your sword you shall live," as mentioned. But when someone raises, God forbid, a razor or knife -- which is the aspect of a sword -- upon the holy beard, he blemishes very, very severely in the Kingship of Holiness, which results in the "sword that avenges the vengeance of the Covenant," the main feeding of which is from the Light of the Face, from the aspect of the hairs of the beard and the pe'ot as mentioned, and God forbid, the sword of Esav overcomes, the aspect of the Kingship of `Amalek who is the entirety of the Four Kingships. And they came to all this through blemishing the Covenant [of Abraham, i.e. they cast away circumcision, family purity (taharat hamishpachah), etc.] first, for surely no man raises his hand to destroy the corner of his beard, God forbid, unless he first blemishes the holy Covenant exceedingly much, through which he blemishes in the brain, in the Lower Wisdom mentioned, and evil thoughts carry on inside him, external wisdoms, until the evil spirit beguiles him to destroy his beard, God forbid, through which he uproots himself completely from the Kingship of Holiness, from Lower Wisdom, from the perception and faith of Yisrael, and has no portion in Hashem Yitbarakh and His holy Torah and in His holy people Yisrael, as mentioned.

3. But the root of the kindness, through which we sever the Kingship from the Four [Evil] Kingships as mentioned is drawn down by means of rebuke, for via rebuke, kindness is revealed. And the rebuke is according to the Torah and the prayer of each and every person, according to the boldness of each and every one, etc., as all this is well explained in that essay. And all this is included in the holy beard. For "se`arot dedikna kashishim le'achpashah ledinim/the hairs of the beard are coarse in order to subdue harsh judgements," as explained in the holy Zohar. And this is the aspect of the `azut dikedushah/holy brazenness mentioned, corresponding to `az vekasheh/bold and hard, through which is the main attainment of the Torah and prayer, which are included in the holy beard. For the entirety of the Torah that we renew is the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy as our Rabbis obm said, that HaKadosh Barukh Hu "wrapped himself" and taught Moshe the order of prayer, and then revealed to him the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, etc. For the root of prayer is mercy and pleading, to arouse the Thirteen Attributes of His Blessed Mercy which are included in the thirteen tikunei dikna/states of perfection of the beard, as known. And by means of this, by means of the Torah and prayer which are according to the boldness of each person, the elder who sits in yeshivah knows how to lehokhiach/rebuke/inspire each and every person and open his mouth in wisdom, in the aspect of "piah potchah bechokhmah/she opens her mouth in wisdom" etc. For all the tikunei dikna surround the holy mouth, and the revelation of the channels of the holy wisdom of the beard of holiness, aspect of the elder sitting in yeshivah, is revealed only through the holy mouth through which is the root of revelation of all the wisdom that is drawn down via channels of the hairs of the pe'ot and beard. And via revelation of this wisdom of rebuke, mercy is drawn down, through which we raise up the Malkhut from the exile of the four [Evil] Kingships and raise it to the Light of the Face which shines in the Three Legs, which is aspect of, "Malkhut `olah `ad hadikna kadisha/Kingship rises up to the Holy Beard," which is the Light of the Face. For, perception of His Blessed Godliness which is revelation of His holy Kingship is via many constrictions. And each and every constriction is aspect of Malkhut from a higher world and level. For, the Lower Wisdom, the aspect of Malkhut in the world of Atzilut, is above and much higher than the Upper Wisdom that is in the world of Beri'ah. And when we need to raise up the Malkhut/Chokhmah Tata'ah from the exile we need to arouse and drawn down an illumination from the root of the Malkhut. That is, from the aspect of Malkhut/Chokhmah Tata'ah that is in the root the upper worlds. And by this you will understand and be enlightened a little bit of the clues in that essay. For raising the Malkhut from the four mentioned is via prayer which is the root of Malkhut as explained in another place. And therefore the main remedy of raising the Malkhut is via the holy beard which is aspect of Light of the Face. For the holy beard is also drawn from the aspect of constrictions, from the aspect of Malkhut that is in very, very high and lofty worlds, as explained in Etz Chayim, that the lights of the beard are drawn down from the two pe'ot which are aspect of Elokim, gematria of pe'ah, aspect of Malkhut as explained there. Understand this thoroughly.

4. And therefore the main point of the Three Festivals is the chakhamei hador/sages of the era, who are the ziknei hador/elders of the era, as our Rabbis obm said: "...asher tikre'u otam bemo`adam/which you shall proclaim in their time" (Lev 23:4), meaning, even if you err, etc. For, raising the Kingship on the Festivals up to Light of the Face depends on the zekinim/elders specifically, for the zaken/elder is aspect of the Light of the Face as mentioned.

For, the elders and the sages know how to guard the month of Aviv to be in its season, and they intercalate the years and fix months, on which the proper state of the Festivals all depend, for the months are twelve, but their entirety is thirteen. And this is the aspect of the secret of the intercalation, which is the thirteenth month. And these thirteen New Moons are repairs of the Malkhut which is aspect of the moon. For the months are counted by the moon. And they are drawn from the thirteen tikunei dikna, for the main raising of the Malkhut is via the thirteen tikunei dikna, which are an aspect of the Light of the Face which shines in the Three Festivals as mentioned.

And therefore kiddush hachodesh/sanctifying the New Moon is the first mitzvah that Yisrael were commanded, for kiddush hachodesh is aspect of the Malkhut-Chokhmah Tata'ah mentioned above, aspect of constrictions of attainments of His Blessed Godliness, which includes the whole entire Torah.

5. And this is aspect of the Four Parshiyot/Torah readings that we read before Pesach which is the head of the Three Festivals, for then is the beginning of the revelation of His Blessed Godliness which is revealed to Yisrael via Exodus from Mitzrayim/Egypt and the parting of the Sea of Reeds, etc. For, the Four Parshiyot correspond to Malkhut which corresponds to dalet, which we need to sever from the exile of the Four [Evil] Kingships which are all called galut Mitzrayim/, as as Rabeinu z"l said (in siman 'ד), in the name of the Midrash, that all the exiles are called galut Mitzrayim -- see there -- for the are metzayerim/afflicting/constricting Yisrael.

And this is aspect of Parashat Shekalim which we read first. This is aspect of tzedakah/righteousness/charity, aspect of the chesed/generosity/mercy mentioned, by means of which we reap and cut the Malkhut from the Four Malkhuts, in the aspect of "zir`u lachem litzedakah, kitzru lefi-chesed/sow for yourselves according to tzedakah, [and] reap according to chesed," as mentioned in that essay. Parashat Zakhor is the aspect of subduing `Amalek who is the generality and the head of the Four Kingships, for he is made of all of them, as mentioned. Parashat Parah is for purifying Yisrael from the impurity of the dead, that is, when we raise the Malkhut, the aspect of the assembly of Yisrael, from the Evil Malkhut, from Haman and `Amalek, then we need to purify from the filth of the Serpect which is the Side of Death which is the aspect of the Malkhut of Haman-`Amalek, as is known. And therefore we need the ashes of the heifer, to be purified from this. And the red heifer is aspect of the tokhachah/rebuke/inspiration of the Rebuker, through which he purifies Yisrael from their transgressions. And this is aspect of red, aspect of the judgment, aspect of the tokhachah mentioned. And therefore the heifer purifies the impure and impurifies all the pure ones who are involved in it. This is the aspect of the tokhachah of the true Rebukers of the Era, through which they purify the impure from their transgressions and bring them back in complete teshuvah. And whoever is involved in tokhachah is impurified by this, for, some blemish from the transgressions of those whom they are involved with to purify them and bring them back from their transgressions clings to them, God forbid. And this is the aspect of the red heifer which purifies the impure and impurifies the pure. But nevertheless the reward of the mokhiach/rebuker exceeds his loss. For, afterwards he purifies himself easily just by immersion and setting of the sun. But he purified the impure ones completely, who were impure with the actual impurity of the dead, with the impurity of the Serpent. And by means of his rebuke he brings them back in complete teshuvah and cleanses them. And therefore the heifer is named after Moshe, as our Rabbis obm said, and all the heifers need to be sanctified from his ashes, from the one that Moshe processed. For Moshe is the head of all the true rebukers, for he was involved in this very much, and devoted his soul for Yisrael always, to rebuke them, to bring them back in the right way. And even though a blemish that was great according to his soul reached him, as is written, "Lekh, red/Go, go down" etc. [Ex. 32:7], despite this he did not leave his place, but devoted his soul for them all his days, to rebuke them and bring them back in the right way. And therefore everyone needs to receive from the aspect of the heifer of Moshe, that is, from his good rebuke as mentioned. And this is the aspect of the red heifer being a mitzvah of the lieutenant Kohanim, for the Kohen haGadol/Chief Kohen is aspect of the Rav of the Era, as is written, "ki siftei Kohen yishmeru da`at vetorah/for the lips of the Kohen shall guard knowledge and Torah" etc. "And if the Rav resembles" etc. (Mo`ed Katan 17). And it is impossible to receive the great wisdom of the Rab of the Era who is aspect of the Great Kohen, except via his holy students. And this is the aspect of interpreter whom they customarily had in the earlier generations, that the sage would always speak via an interpreter, for it is impossible by oneself to receive the wisdom of the True Sage and the Rav of the Age, except via an interpreter, who is aspect of his students, who reveal and explain his wisdom and rebuke to the many. For, in the True Rav himself they have no grasp at all; only by means of his students, and as Rabeinu z"l said regarding the verse, "B'yad-kol-adam yachtom; lada`at, kol-anshei ma`asehu/The hand of all man, He seals; to know [is via] the men whom He has made;" [Job 37] see there [Likutei Moharan] #140. And this is aspect of the repairs of the Red Heifer, which is aspect of tokhachah of the True Chakham to purify Yisrael from their transgressions, is done via a deputy of the Kohanim specifically, aspect of translator, aspect of students of the True Chakham who is aspect of the Kohen haGadol.

Parashat haChodesh is the root of raising the Malkhut which is aspect of Rosh Chodesh, as mentioned, for via Rashei Chadashim are the proper times of all the Festival times, which is when the raising of the Malkhut etc. is, as mentioned.

6. And all four of these parashiyot by means of which we sever the Malkhut from the four malkhuts and afterwards it goes up to the Light of the Face on the Three Festivas -- this is aspect of the Four Children explained in that essay, who are aspect of Malkhut, which is aspect of dalet, as written there. Parashat Sheqalim which is tzedakah to the poor, is aspect of Yitzchak who is the Wise Son, for the poor person is from sitra dedina kashia/the side of harsh judgement, from the aspect of Yitzchak, and by tzedakah which we give him we enliven him, and return to him his face and wisdom which went away from him due to the pressure of his poverty, in the aspect of "chokhmat-hamisken bezuyah/the poor man's wisdom is despised" (Eccl. 9). And therefore by tzedakah we merit to the Ohr haPanim/Light of the Face, as it says (Ps. 16), "Ani betzedek echezeh paneikha/As for me, I shall see Your face in righteousness." And the Light of the Face is aspect of chokhmah/wisdom, as mentioned, aspect of "chokhmat adam ya'ir panav/the wisdom of a man lights his face." And therefore Yitzchak, which is aspect of the wise son, which is the aspect of tzedakah, which is aspect of Ohr haPanim, aspect of chayim/life, aspect of chokhmah. This is sweetening of the "severities" of Yitzchak, from which the poverty originates, God forbid. Parashat Zachor is the supression of `Amalek, who is the seek of the wicked Esav. This is aspect of the Evil Son, who is Esav, as written there. P. Parah which is aspect of tokhachah/rebuke, through which we are privileged to teshuvah/repentence, as mentioned -- this is aspect of the Son Who Does Not Know How to Ask, who is aspect of Yishma`el, who did teshuvah, as written there. P. Hachodesh -- then the Malkhut starts to go up to the Ohr haPanim, for that is when the dawning of Pesach begins, which is the first Festival. And therefore in this parashah are said all the laws of Pesach. This is aspect of the Simple Son, who is Ya`akov, "ish tam/the simple man," as mentioned there, for Ya`akov is aspect of Ohr haPanim, aspect of "mevakshei paneikha, Ya`akov, Selah/those who seek your face -- Yaakov, Selah!" (Ps. 24), as Rabeinu z"l said several times.

7. And this is aspect of "bed, table, chair and lamp" [II Kings 4:10; Berakhot 10b] which are the four repairs of the Shekhinah, which is aspect of the daleit (the four sons) mentioned above. Lamp -- is the Wise Son, for the lamp is the head which is aspect chokhmah in the brain, aspect of "veshemen `al roshkha al-yechsar/do not let oil be lacking upon your head" [Prov. ?], aspect of "shemen mishchat kodesh/holy anointing oil" which is aspect of da`at/knowledge, as known. Chair is aspect of complete throne which is aspect of wiping our Haman-Amalek who is of the seed of Esav who is the Wicked Son. For, the throne is not complete until the seed of Amalek is annihilated. Table is aspect of teshuvah that atones, which is aspect of the Son Who Does Not Know How to Ask, as mentioned, for the table atones like the altar (as our Rabbis z"l said in Berakhot 55a). Bed is aspect of the Simple Son, aspect of Ya`akov whose bed was complete, in the twelve tribes of Yah, which are four flags, corresponding to four camps of the Shekhinah, which is aspect of the four above, for Ya`akov includes them all, and he raises the Malkhut which is aspect daleit/4, aspect of "ishah yir'at Hashem/woman who fears Hashem," as is known to the Ohr haPanim, aspect of "mevakshei paneikha, Ya`akov" as mentioned. And therefore Ya`akov married four wives, and from them went forth four banners, aspect of the four mentioned.

And therefore on Pesach we all lean on the bed, for the bed is made up of the four camps, aspect of four banners, aspect of the four mentioned.

8. And this is the aspect of Pesach, the prohibition of chametz, and eating matzah etc. For on Pesach Moshe took Yisrael out of Mitzrayim. And then he revealed to them perception of His blessed Godliness. And therefore Pesach is the chief festival, for Pesach is the aspect of chesed, aspect of Avraham, as is known. And the main repair of the Malkhut, chokhmah tata'ah mentioned above, that is, to sever it from the four [evil] Malkhuts mentioned above, and raise to the Ohr haPanim which shines in the three festivals, is [accomplished] by the chesed, as mentioned. And because Pesach is the beginning of the revelation of His blessed Godliness in a very, very great light, as is brought [in the sefarim], therefore at that time chametz is prohibited in even a tiny amount, for the only [difference] between chametz (חמץ) and matzah (מצה) is the tiny amount, which is the space and opening that is between the point inside the ה and its roof -- which is the difference between the [letter] chet and [letter] ה, between חמץ and מצה, for perception of Godliness is impossible to attain except via great constrictions, from [עילה לעלול], from Upper Intellect to Lower Intellect, for leit machshavah tefisa [bo] klal/"thought cannot grasp [Him] at all." And therefore the main thing is emunah, which is aspect of the chokhmah tata'ah mentioned above, the Malkhut mentioned above. And all the perceptions and all the constrictions are all an aspect of emunah, which is the foundation of the whole entire Torah. As is written, vetzadik be'emunato yichyeh/but the just shall live by his faith" [Hab. 2:4]. And as is written (Ps. 119), kol mitzvoteikha emunah/all your commandments are faith[ful]. For, people who are simple or undervalued certainly cannot attain perception of Godliness. And their main life and hope, to be privileged to the everlasting purpose, the true purpose, is only through emunah. And even someone who has a great intellect and is charif/sharp and very learned in Torah, in charifut/sharpness and depth in Shas and Poskim, and even someone who has a hand in the wisdom of kabbalah, in the books of the holy Zohar and the Arizal's writings, so long as he has not purified himself from the zuhamat hanachash/filth of the Serpent, and has not yet completely broken the cravings of his body and its material, and still has some grip and speck of a thing from the cravings of his body and the vapors of this world, his intellect is certainly not yet complete, and it is prohibited for him to enter into the wisdom of the perception of His blessed Godliness at all, for he can stumble greatly and fall, God forbid, the Merciful One save us. So he needs to be be strong just in emunah and cast away his intellect completely, and rely only on our holy patriarchs and on the true tzadikim who subdued their [evil] inclination and broke the material completely, for only they merited to perception of His blessed Godliness in utter completion. And even tzadikim as these who cleaned and sanctified themselves from the zuhamat hanachash completely and broke all the cravings and nullified the body and the material completely, they too have their main strengthening only through the holy faith, as understood in the words of Rabeinu z"l in several places. For it is impossible to attain any...

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