Translation:Likutei Moharan/29

by Nachman of Breslov

“A certain man went seeking a wife, but they didn’t give [her] to him. What did he see that made him go to where there was a better one?” He took a peg and pressed it in below. It did not go in. He raised it up and pressed it in higher up. It went in. He said, “That one, too, has found his bat mazleh (destined mate)”(Bekhorot 8b).

[Speaking Spirit]

“Hai Gavra D’azil (A certain man went) seeking a wife, but they didn’t give her to him…”

Not all words are considered speech. For words which are not heard or accepted are not called speech, as in (Psalms 19:4), “There is no speech and no words without their voice being heard.”

Now the main reason words are accepted has to do with the good they contain, because everyone desires good. Therefore, when the words contain good, then speech is heard and accepted. But when the words have no good in them, they are not accepted.

And how do we create the good in the words? This is done by taking speech from daat (holy knowledge). Then it has good in it. But when speech is without daat, then it has no good, as in (Proverbs 19:2), “Also, for the soul to be without knowledge is not good.” The soul is speech, as is written (Genesis 2:7), “Man became a living soul,” the Aramaic translation of which is “a speaking spirit.”

[Praise and Splendor]

Now, raising and enhancing daat is accomplished through praise of the tzaddikim. By praising and extolling the tzaddikim, daat is elevated, corresponding to (Deuteronomy 32:11), “Like a nesher (eagle) arousing its kein (nest).” Nishra is the spirit, the concept of tzaddik, as in (Numbers 27:18), “A man in whom there is the spirit <of God>.” “Arousing its kein”—he arouses the “mentalities” from their slumber, from the aspect of constricted consciousness, from the aspect of sleep. “KeiN” alludes to (Proverbs 4:5), “KNei (acquire) wisdom, KNei understanding”; these being the mentalities, <as in known>. {“Bless the Lord, O His angels; the strong warriors who do His word, so as to hear the sound of His word” (Psalms 103:20).}

Even angels, when they want to utter a word that will be heard and accepted among them—corresponding to, “do His word, so as to hear the sound of His word”—they then praise and extol the Holy One first. For He is the Tzaddik of the world, as in (Psalms 145:17), “God is a tzaddik in all His ways.” Because of this, the word is in the category of “to hear the sound of His word.”

And this is, “Bless the Lord, O His angels”—i.e., the praise <and splendor> with which they first praise <and extol> the Holy One, who is the Tzaddik of the world. And afterwards, through this they “do His word, so as to hear the sound of His word.” They create the word which is heard and accepted.

[White Garments]

This is the concept of white garments. In other words, speech—which is the concept of “Malkhut, mouth” (Tikkuney Zohar, Introduction) —corresponds to white garments. For it is necessary to take great care of one’s clothing; not to abuse the clothing, but to care for them properly so that no spot or stain gets on them.

And the greater the person, the more he has to protect the garments. For the greater the person, the more stringently he is dealt with. Thus a Torah scholar who has a stain on his garment deserves to die (Shabbat 114a), because he is dealt with more stringently.

For the clothes themselves judge him, corresponding to “the law of the malkhut (the kingdom)” (Nedarim 28a). The reason is that garments are an aspect of Malkhut. Thus Rabbi Yochanan called his clothing “my honorers” (Sabbath 113a); this being the concept of Malkhut (Kingship), the concept of (Psalms 24:8) “the King of honor.” And these correspond to “justice is the holy Malkhut” (Tikkuney Zohar, Introduction), for this is the concept of garments, the concept of (Job 29:14) “I clothed myself in justice.” Thus someone who abuses them is like one who rebels against the kingdom, and then “the law of the malkhut” judges him.

By virtue of this, he creates a separation between the Holy One and His Shekhinah (Divine Presence), in the aspect of “the Serpent drew her to himself and poisoned her” (Zohar III, 79a). This is the aspect of the DaM (blood) of a menstruating woman, as in (Isaiah 63:2), “Why is your clothing aDoM (red)?”

<And because of> the spot and the stain found on his garment, the above mentioned aspect of Malkhut —the Shekhinah of His strength—is separated from the Holy One. And then, “He will roar mightily over His habitation” (Jeremiah 25:30) —over His habitation (Zohar III, 74b).

Then, the evil handmaid, which is the Malkhut of the Other Side, rules; as in (Proverbs 30:23), “… and a handmaid that is heir to her mistress.” She is a bad wife, an aspect of “a bad time.” For there are twenty-eight times: <fourteen> for good, <fourteen> for bad (cf. Ecclesiastes 3).

And it is necessary to subdue the evil handmaid, who is “a bad time,” as in (ibid. 9:8), “At all times let your garments be white.” Specifically “at all times.” “Your garments be white,” that is, without a stain. This is the concept of purifying the Shekhinah from her impurity, corresponding to (Bekhorot 6b), “The blood is decomposed and converted into milk.”

But the wicked, through their sins, cause a separation between the Holy One and His Shekhinah. This is because they generate menstrual blood in her, at which point she is called “city of blood” (Ezekiel 22:2). And by virtue of this, the wicked are called “men of bloodshed” (Psalms 55:24).

Now, the three hundred sixty-five prohibitive commandments are complementary to the three hundred sixty-five gidim through which the blood flows. Commensurate with the aspect of the prohibitive commandment that they transgress, they arouse <the blood> in the Shekhinah.

For there are a number of types of blood (Niddah 19a). It is therefore necessary to <whiten> these bloods—i.e., to rectify the prohibitions/ gidim and draw whiteness to them, as in, “The blood is decomposed and converted into milk.”

And this is, “At all times let your B’GaDekha (garments) be white.” Specifically B’GiDekha (in your veins and nerves)—to draw whiteness into them.

[Rectification of the brit]

Now, to correct all the sins individually—they are very many, and the task is an onerous one! It is impossible to rectify them, because in each and every prohibition there are many fine points and details.

It is therefore necessary to rectify the generality of the GiDim, corresponding to (Deuteronomy 4:13), “And yaGeD (He announced) to you His brit (covenant).” Then, by rectifying the brit, which is the generality of the gidim, all the prohibitions that he transgressed are rectified as a matter of course, and whiteness is drawn into them.

Because of this, the generality of the gidim, which is the holy brit, is called ShaDaI; because it ShaDI (shoots) and fires whiteness and rectifications to each and every detail according to its needs, even to those places which are narrow and tiny. For there are places that are so narrow and tiny that no rectification can reach there except the General Remedy which shoots whiteness and rectification even to the narrow and tiny places; as in (Job 22:25), “And Shadai (the Almighty) will be b’TZaRekha.” <That is, the concept of rectifying the brit / Shadai> shoots and fires rectifications <like an arrow> to all the TZaR (narrow) <and tiny> places, <as explained>.

And because of this, brit is called “the brightness of the firmament.” For then, prior to rectification, it is in the category of (Job 20:27), “The heaven will reveal his transgression.” But after rectification, it then brightens and purifies the firmament—corresponding to the crimson-colored strap which whitens the transgressions of the three hundred sixty-five <gidim, the three hundred sixty-five> prohibitions (Yoma 67a) —and causes whiteness to flow into the three hundred sixty-five gidim, corresponding to, “At all times let your garments be white.” {“Like a nesher (an eagle) arousing its> kein (nest), hovering over its gozel (young)” (Deuteronomy 32:11).}

<Now, this> whiteness is drawn from the mind, as in (Song of Songs 4:15), “flowing from LeBaNon”—from the LiBuNa (whiteness) of the mind. <It comes> through the rectification of the generality of the gidim, as in, “Like a nesher arousing its kein.” Nishra is the spirit, <the concept of the brit,> as in (Joshua 2:11), “Neither did there arise any more spirit-of-life in man”—<i.e., the holy Covenant>. “Arousing its kein”—he arouses <the mentalities>, corresponding to “Knei wisdom, knei understanding,” from the aspect of sleep.

“Hovering over its GoZeL (young).” He hovers over and protects the mentalities which were at first niGZaLin, as in (Proverbs 28:24), “He gozel (steals) from his father and his mother.” These are the mentalities—namely, “father in Chokhmah (Wisdom)” and “mother to Binah (Understanding).”

This is the meaning of (Berakhot 3a): “An infant nourishes from the ShDaI (breasts) of his mother.” “An infant” alludes to constricted mentalities. He is nourished and raised from infant-like constriction by means of the General Remedy, which shoots and fires <rectifications, as explained>.

And this is the meaning of “his mother”—this is <the Gathering of Israel>. As is written (Proverbs 23:22), “Do not despise your mother when she is old.” [“Your mother,”] Rashi explains, is “your gathering,” <because> all the <attributes and> rectifications are gathered and encompassed there.

This is the essence of Israel’s coming closer to its Father in heaven, i.e., through rectification of the brit. This is the primary means through which Israel comes closer to its Father in heaven, as in (Exodus 19:4), “I carried you on kanfei nesharim (the wings of eagles), and I brought you to Me.” “Nishra” is the General Remedy, as in, “And He announced to you His covenant”—namely, rectification of the brit, as explained. Specifically through this, “I brought you to Me.” They came closer to the Holy One, for the main way to come closer to the Holy One is through the rectification of the brit.

[General Remedy]

Earning a livelihood without struggle, the aspect of <manna>, “bread from heaven” (Exodus 16:4), is also dependent on this—on the General Remedy, rectification of the brit. This corresponds to (Proverbs 30:19), “the way of the eagle is in heaven.”

This is the meaning of (Numbers 11:7), “The manna was like the seed of GaD (coriander)”—the seed of the <GiD> is a white drop, the aspect of “flowing from Lebanon.” For this is the concept of rectification of the brit, upon which a livelihood without struggle—the aspect of manna, “bread from heaven”—is dependent.

[But] a livelihood which is earned with struggle and difficulty is the result of one’s not having effected the General Remedy, which is rectification of the brit. This is because: One who throws away crumbs of bread, poverty pursues him. All the more so someone who throws away the “crumbs” of his mind (Zohar III, 244a). {“You shall not eat on blood; you shall not nachashu (act on the basis of omens); you shall not onainu (act on the basis of auspicious times)” (Leviticus 19:26).}

And this is the meaning of, “You shall not eat on blood”—that is, because of the bloods which generate an aspect of menstruation in the Shekhinah, corresponding to “the city of blood”/”Why is your clothing red?”/a stain was found on his garments. In other words, because of a blemish of the brit, which is a blemish in the generality of the gidim —this being a blemish of the garments, as explained—“you shall not eat,” i.e., your livelihood will be a struggle.

“You shall not act on the basis of omens. You shall not act on the basis of auspicious times.” For they bring on the aspect of “the Serpent draws her to himself” and cause the evil handmaid, who is “a bad time,” to rule.

This is the meaning of, “You shall not NaChaShu”—do not, God forbid, bring about that “the NaChaSh (Serpent) draws her to himself and pollutes her,” as above. And “you shall not ONainu”—this has the connotation of time and ONah (season). In other words, do not, God forbid, bring about the rule of the “bad time” of the twenty-eight times, as above.

And this was Yaakov’s request (Genesis 28:20), “… and if He gives me bread to eat and clothing to wear.” For one is dependent upon the other; a livelihood is dependent upon the concept of white garments. And this is (Isaiah 23:18), “to eat to satiation and for majestic clothing.”

Now, Yaakov drew whiteness—the aspect of “the white layer” (Genesis 30:37) —through the General Remedy; as is written (ibid. 49:3), “the first of my manhood.” He is described as “a tent dweller” (ibid. 25:27) — i.e., the aspect of heaven; as it is written (Isaiah 40:22), “He spread [the heavens] out like a tent to dwell in.” This corresponds to “the way of the eagle is in heaven”/”the brightness of the firmament”/the crimson-colored strap which whitens their transgressions and the three hundred sixty-five gidim, as in (ibid. 1:18), “Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as white wool.”

[Speech is Forbidden]

But as long as he has yet to effect the General Remedy, and the Shekhinah is in the category of “Why is your clothing red?”/menstruation, then speech is forbidden. This is as in (Psalms 39:3), “I became mute with dumiyah (silence).” From these DaMim (bloods), the aspect of DuMiyah is made. For the essence of speech is dependent upon the General Remedy, corresponding to, “He announced to you His covenant.” {“In the days of Rabbi Shimon, each person would say to his fellow, ‘Open your mouth and your words will shine.’ After Rabbi Shimon died, they would say, ‘Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin’” (Zohar III, 79a).}

This is the concept of: “After Rabbi Shimon died, each person would say to his fellow (Ecclesiastes 5:5), ‘Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin.’” This is because Rabbi Shimon is <the aspect of> the “bow of the Covenant,” corresponding to, “He announced to you His covenant”—i.e., the generality of the gidim.

And when the General Remedy is lacking, speech is then forbidden. This is as in, “I became mute with silence,” and, “Do not let your mouth,” as explained. And someone who speaks then, when the General Remedy is lacking, violates [the commandment], “Do not go gossiping among your people” (Leviticus 19:16). He “goes gossiping, revealing secrets” (Proverbs 11:13).

However, “in the days of Rabbi Shimon, each person would say to his fellow, ‘Open your mouth [and your words will shine].’” This is because when the General Remedy/”the bow of the Covenant” is present, speech is then permitted. For the blood has already been rectified, as in, “The blood is decomposed and converted into milk,” and as in, “At all times let your garments be white.”

This is the meaning of (Psalms 30:13), “So that it will sing to Your honor, and will not be silenced.” “Honor” corresponds to garments, which have been whitened from the aspects of “Why is your clothing red?”/the DaM of a menstruating woman. And so, “it will not yiDoM (be silenced).” For whiteness is drawn into the blood from the aspect of “flowing from Lebanon,” as explained. And then speech is permitted, corresponding to, “Open your mouth.”

[Epilepsy]

Conceptually, this is the malady [known as] nophel (epilepsy), God spare us, when the blood surges and shoots up to the brain and puts pressure on the mind. Because of the pressure on the mind, the limbs tremble. The reason for this is that the brain is the commander of the army, and when the enemy attacks the commander, all his soldiers are in an uproar because they are dependent upon him. And then the Divine Presence NoPheLet (falls), God forbid, as in (Amos 9:11), “the booth of David that NoPhaLet (has fallen).”

But through the General Remedy—which arouses the mind and draws whiteness to the gidim, as in, “At all times let your garments be white”—she is healed from the malady of NoPheL. Then, “she NaPhLah (fell), but will no more. Arise, O maiden of Israel” (ibid. 5:2). And then speech is permitted, corresponding to, “Open your mouth.”

This is the meaning of: “Do not go gossiping… Do not stand idly over your friend’s blood.” “Your friend” alludes to the mentalities, which are “two friends who never separate” (Zohar III, 4b). When they are not silenced or prevented from doing their job by a surge of blood pressuring the mind, you will not be guilty of “Do not go about gossiping.” This is because speech is then permitted; the aspect of “Open your mouth” in the days of Rabbi Shimon, etc.

[Wine is a Traitor]

And this is (Habakkuk 2:5), “Moreover, wine is boged (a traitor).” The word “boGeD” alludes to the GiDim. Because of [wine], one “goes about gossiping, revealing secrets,” as in: Wine enters, secrets emerge (Sanhedrin 38a). For wine corresponds to the gidim, a surge of the blood, as in: “Look not at the wine, for yitaDaM (it is red)” (Proverbs 23:31) —its end is DaM (Sanhedrin 70a).

This is also the reason [wine] is called tiRoSh. From this our Sages learned (Yoma 76b): If he is worthy, he becomes RoSh (head); if he is unworthy, he becomes RaSh (a pauper). In other words, when he is not ZaKhah (worthy)—i.e., he does not ZaKhekh (purify) the blood—he becomes poor, for he is not given any “bread from heaven.” But if he is zakhah —<i.e., he is zakhekh the blood>—he becomes rosh, corresponding to the mentalities. This alludes to drawing the whiteness from the brain, as in, “flowing from Lebanon”—<from the whiteness of the mind,> as above.

[Craving for Money]

This is the concept of earning a living faithfully. Someone who does not earn his living with faith, and is filled with a craving for money so that he steals from his friend—he arouses the above mentioned blood, corresponding to, “Why is your clothing red?” He generates in the Shekhinah the blood of niddah (menstruation), as in (Ezekiel 7:19), “their gold shall be niddah (impure).” This is the meaning of: Damim implies two (Megillah 14b) —that is, the dam of menstruation is the result of money.

<And> this is why stealing is called beged, as in (Isaiah 24:16), “And beged bogdim bagadu (those who betrayed the traitors have betrayed)”—i.e., the blemishing of garments, as in, “a stain was found on his beged (garment).” Thus Yonatan ben Uziel translates (ibid.): “bazuzei u’bazuzei d’bazuzei”—i.e., the aspect of craving money. For the more he has, the more he craves.

For this is the primary rectification of earning a living: to keep in mind that the sole purpose of every step he takes and every word he speaks while earning a living is to be able to give charity from his earnings. This is the concept of the General Remedy as it relates to money <and the gidim>.

This is because charity corresponds to the generality of gidim, as in (Hoshea 10:12), “ZiRu (Sow) for yourselves for charity”— ZeRa gad (the seed of coriander) is a white drop. Through this remedy the mind is elevated, in the aspect of “a mind as white as silver” (Tikkuney Zohar #70, p. 129a).

This is why it is called masa u ’matan (the give-and-take of livelihood), to indicate that it contains a rectification for the aspect of garments/blood, as mentioned.

Masa (take) is alluded to in (Psalms 38:5), “For my transgressions have gone over my head; like a masa (burden) which is heavy, they are too heavy for me.” These are the three hundred sixty-five prohibitions which overpower the head, the mentalities, as in, “Do not stand idly over your friend’s blood.” It also corresponds to the blemishing of the garments, as explained.

And this is the meaning of “KhaVeD yiKhVDu (heavy, they are too heavy)”—an aspect of “the King of KaVoD (honor).” <Furthermore,> “KhaVeD” corresponds to the blood, because the KaVeD (the liver) is full of blood. This is an aspect of the blood of menstruation, as mentioned above.

And matan (give) is an aspect of the General Remedy, which is charity, as in (Proverbs 18:16), “A man’s matan (gift) opens the way for him.” This corresponds to “the bow of the Covenant,” which is <the TZeDaKah (charity)>, as in (Psalms 37:21), “The TZaDdiK has pity and gives.” And this is what our Sages said: “With your mouth” (Deuteronomy 23:24) —this is charity (Rosh HaShanah 6a), for then speech is permitted.

[Rectify and Elevate the Mind]

The general rule is this: One must first effect the General Remedy, and through this all the individual matters will be rectified as a matter of course. And even though the General Remedy is higher and more exalted than the individual remedy for any thing, nevertheless, because the rectification of every thing depends upon the mind—i.e., drawing whiteness from the mind, as in, “flowing from Lebanon”—and elevating the mind is only possible through the General Remedy— as in, “Like a nesher arousing its kein”—it is therefore necessary to first go to the higher level, the General Remedy, in order to rectify and elevate the mind. Then all things are rectified by themselves, as explained.

[Choice Silver]

This is the explanation [of what the Wise Men of Athens asked]: A certain man went see king a wife, but they didn’t give her to him — <“A wife”> alludes to “a God-fearing woman” (Proverbs 31:30). In other words, one who blemished by sinning generated in the Shekhinah an aspect of menstruation. Because of this, “the Serpent draws her to himself” and a separation is made between the Holy One and His Shekhinah. Thus:

They didn’t give her to him — This corresponds to, “He will roar mightily over His habitation,” as above.

What did he see that made him go to where there was a better one? — That is, when he wants to purify <the Shekhinah from her impurity>, he goes to the highest level—i.e., the General Remedy, which is higher than “a God-fearing woman.” This is alluded to in (2 Samuel 23:3), “The tzaddik rules with the fear of God.” For the tzaddik, who corresponds to the General Remedy, is above. He “rules with the fear of God,” which corresponds to Malkhut, as is written (Avot 3:2): “Were it not for the fear of the malkhut ….” And this is:

He took a peg and pressed it in below — “A peg,” as Rashi explains, is a spike or a nail. It alludes to the words of Torah, as is written (Ecclesiastes 12:11), “The words of the wise are like spurs and nails.”

pressed it in below — This refers to the lower levels, where there is no General Remedy. This is, “after Rabbi Shimon died,” for then speech is forbidden. Therefore:

It did not go in — It was impossible then to speak words of Torah, as above.

He pressed it in higher up and it went in — This alludes to “in the days of Rabbi Shimon”—“the bow of the Covenant,” the General Remedy—when speech is permitted.

In other words, [Rabbi Yehoshua] showed them that it is impossible to rectify speech except by praising the tzaddikim, as this is the General Remedy for speech. And the same holds true for all things. The only way to rectify them is through the General Remedy, so as to elevate the mind from which all whiteness is drawn, as explained. And this is:

He said: That one, too, has found his destined mate — This alludes to the mentalities, corresponding to, “flowing from Lebanon.”

In other words, he chose for them the example of speech and showed them that rectification is impossible without the General Remedy. <He showed them> that while Rabbi Shimon was alive speech was perfected, but after the death of <Rabbi Shimon, they said,> “Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin.” As explained, this is the meaning of: He pressed it in below…

This is likewise the case for all things; each one must be rectified through the General Remedy which applies to it. Earning a living, for example, is [rectified] through charity.

The same is true of everything else; each thing has to be rectified by its particular General Remedy. This is because it is necessary to elevate the mentalities so as to draw whiteness from there, in order to rectify and whiten all the blemishes. And this is only possible through the General Remedy, as explained.

And this is: That one, too, has found bat maZLeh — This corresponds to “noZLim from LeBaNon”—from the LiBuNa (whiteness) of the mind, as above.

[All this is alluded to in the words (Proverbs 10:20),] “keseF nivchaR leshoN tzaddiK —choice silver is the tongue of the tzaddik,” [the last letters of which spell FRaNK.] {The explanation of this last piece and the verse’s connection to the lesson will be clarified elsewhere.}

[Seven Coatings of the Eyes]

The following relates to section 8.

Thus, although wine is harmful for a woman whose menstrual flow is heavy and her period irregular—corresponding to, “‘wine when it is red,’ for its end is blood,” and, “Wine enters, secrets emerge”—nevertheless, her cure is <to drink> wine looked at by a true tzaddik.

The reason is that the eyes correspond to the hair, for the “seven coatings of the eyes” (Tikkuney Zohar #70, p.128a) are an aspect of the “seven locks of his head” (Judges 16:19), which are the mentalities. This is because hair is the extraneous matter of the mentalities. It therefore corresponds to the “seven locks,” which are the seven attributes that pass through and cross as thoughts of the mind. For the thoughts of the mind are in accordance with a person’s attributes; the attribute to which a person presently adheres determines the thoughts that pass through and cross his mind. Thus “seven maChL’Phot (locks) of his head” has the connotation of ChaLaPh (pass through) and cross.

Therefore, when one blemishes the hair, sight—the “seven coatings of the eyes”—is blemished. Thus it is said of Shimshon, who blemished the “seven locks of his head,” that “the Philistines gouged out his eyes” (ibid. 16:21).

And so, by means of the “seven coatings of the eyes” we rectify the “seven locks of his head”—these are the hairs, in an aspect of, “The hair of his head is like whitened wool” (Daniel 7:9). This corresponds to the crimson-colored strap which whitens the redness of the three hundred sixty-five gidim, as in, “Though they be red like crimson, they shall be white as wool.” Thus through this, the redness, which is an aspect of menstrual blood, is rectified.

And this is (Psalms 118:5), “I called out to God from the MeiTZaR (the narrow straits)”—the same letters as TZeMeR (wool). This is explained in the Kavanot. Study there and understand.