Translation:Likutei Moharan/14

“Blow a shofar at the New Moon; at the appointed time for the day of our festival.”

(Psalms 81:4)

[To Draw Peace]
L ’hamshikh shalom (To draw peace) into the world it is necessary to elevate the Holy One’s glory to its source—i.e., to fear. As it is written (Deuteronomy 28:58), “To fear the glorious name.”

[Lovingkindness]
Yet, it is impossible to elevate the glory except through the Torah of lovingkindness. And of the Torah of lovingkindness our Sages taught: This is the one who studies Torah in order to teach it (Sukkah 49b). For this is the essence of His glory, as is brought in the Zohar (II, 69a): When the other nations come and recognize the Holy One, then the name of God ascends and is glorified above and below. This was the case with Yitro. When Yitro said (Exodus 18:11), “Now I know that God is greater than all gods,” with this God’s name ascended and was glorified.

We find, therefore, that this is His glory—when people who are outside holiness draw closer, the [realm of] holiness. This applies equally to converts who convert and to baaley teshuvah (repentant Jews), for they were also on the outside. And when [the converts and the baaley teshuvah] are drawn closer and brought inside, this is His glory.

But now, the glory is in exile. For the main glory is [currently] with the gentiles, whereas we, the Jewish people, are lowly and disgraced. But in the Future, when His glory will be revealed from out of the darkness, as in (Isaiah 40:5), “And the glory of God will be revealed, and all flesh shall see it”—for at that time they will all incline together “to serve Him with one consent” (Zephaniah 3:9) —then the nations will say (Isaiah 2:5), “Come, let us walk in the light of God.” And glory is called light, as is written (Ezekiel 43:2), “The earth was illuminated by His glory.”

[Union of the Souls]
Now, the only way to attract converts and baaley teshuvah is through Torah, as it is written (Proverbs 5:16), “Your wellsprings shall spread outward.” For those who are on the outside must be given to drink—they must be informed of the path they are to follow.

This is what our Sages taught: There is no glory other than Torah (Avot 6:3). And, concerning “If you take out the precious from the vile” (Jeremiah 15:19), our Sages taught: This refers to those who draw people to the service of God (Bava Metzia 85a). For this is called “taking out the precious”—i.e., glory—“from the vile”—from the lowliness of exile.

And this is (Psalms 113:4): “God is high above all nations, [His glory is above the heavens].” That is, when the gentiles acknowledge and praise Him, then “His glory is above the heavens”— the glory then ascends from the darkness.

Yet, it is impossible for either Jewish sinners or converts to come to an awakening of repentance except through the Torah, which shines to them wherever they are, as in, “Your wellsprings shall spread outward.” Specifically “outward,” because the Torah is comprised of 600,000 letters, corresponding to the 600,000 [Jewish] souls. And each soul has its own source Above, in the Divine thought of the Holy One, for “Israel arose first in thought” (Bereishit Rabbah 1:5).

And through a union of souls, the souls of the converts are created. When the souls are aroused through the letters of Torah that a person recites, and they shine to one another, this is the concept of union—each one receives light from the other. And, by means of the union of the souls’ shining within  thought, the souls of converts are created.

So, too, the Jewish sinner. As long as he is called a Jew {for we refer to him as a “Jewish sinner,” therefore the name “Jew” still applies to him,} even though he has sinned, he is a Jew (Sanhedrin 44a). He has a hold and a source in upper thought. As a result of the shining, the source of his soul shines together with the other sources, so that an illumination reaches this Jewish sinner from his soul’s source. And, by virtue of this illumination, he returns in repentance.

[A Pure and Clear Soul]
This is what our Sages taught: Why do Torah scholars not have sons who are Torah scholars? Because they did not recite the blessing for Torah first (Nedarim 81a). Every person, and especially the Torah scholar, must bless  through his Torah study, and illuminate the source of the souls—i.e., the “first in thought.” For that is where our source is.

We find, therefore, when a person brings illumination and blessing into the first thought, and through this the souls shine and are blessed, then when he draws down a soul for his son, he certainly draws a pure and clear soul. As a result, his son will also be a Torah scholar.

However, when he does not illuminate and bless the “first” through his study of Torah, then, when he draws a soul for his son, this soul is in the aspect of “I am asleep” (Song of Songs 5:2). It does not shine. This is why his son will not be a Torah scholar. And this is: “Because they did not recite the blessing for Torah first”—i.e., the source of the souls, as in, “Israel arose first in thought.”

[Humility]
Now, a person can only merit Torah through humility, as our Sages taught (Eruvin 54a): “And from the wilderness to Matanah” (Numbers 21:18). He has to break his haughtiness, [drawing] from the four aspects of humility. For a person has to humble himself  before those greater than he.  before his equals.  before those lesser than he.  that he himself is sometimes the smallest of the small and must humble himself relative to his own level. He should imagine himself lower than he [really] is, corresponding to (Exodus 16:29), “Every person must sit beneath his place.”

This is what Rabbah bar bar Chanah recounted:

'I once saw a one-day-old urzila'' (mountain goat) which was as big as Mount Tabor. And how large was Har (Mount) Tabor? Four miles. The length of its outstretched neck was three miles and the length of its head’s marvata (resting place) was a mile and a half. It cast a ball of dung which obstructed the Jordan River (Bava Batra 73b). '''

Rashbam:

a one-day-old urzila - a newborn mountain goat which had been born that very day: as Mount Tabor - that is how big it was:  the length of its head’s marvata - the place upon which it laid its head while lying on the ground:  cast a ball of dung - it excreted:  which obstructed - the dung temporarily blocked the Jordan's flow, until the water gradually dissolved it:

♦

a one-day-old urzila (mountain goat) — This alludes to the aspect of glory, which is b’ZiLuta (in disgrace). This is ur-ZiLa. Ur (illumination) corresponds to glory, as in, “The earth was illuminated by His glory.” And why was it called one-day-old ? Because the glory will not be revealed until the arrival of our Mashiach. Of him it is written (Sanhedrin 98a): [When asked,] “When will my master arrive?”  “Today!”  “Today! If you will hearken to His voice.” Each day, the glory is of emerging from its disgrace. 

which was as big as Har (Mount) Tabor — [Rabbah bar bar Chanah] saw that the elevation of glory depends upon a person breaking his haughtiness. Glory ascends in proportion to the extent one breaks one’s haughtiness, because His glory is elevated through Torah, as above. And, a person can only merit Torah through humility, as our Sages taught: “And from the wilderness to Matanah.” This is Har Tabor. Har denotes arrogance, as in (Psalms 30:8), “You have made my har stand proud”; and taBoR indicates sheBiRah (breaking). 

'''And how large was Mount Tabor? Four miles''' — This alludes to the four aspects of humility mentioned above. A person must humble before the righteous, the ordinary people, the wicked and before his own level. He should see himself as if he has not yet attained [even] the level which he is on. This is Mount Tabor, four miles. The breaking of haughtiness is in four aspects.

The length of its neck when outstretched was three miles — This corresponds to the things which people tend to be haughty about, of which there are three. A person must guard himself against them, as is written (Jeremiah 9:22), “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, nor the mighty man in his might, nor the rich man in his wealth.” They are three aspects: wise, mighty, wealthy. And haughtiness is called an outstretched neck, corresponding to (Psalms 75:6), “Speak [not] with a haughty neck.”

and the length of its head’s marvata (resting place) was a mile and a half — This alludes to the union which takes place in the beginning of Divine thought. [The word] maRVata connotes union, as in (Psalms 139:3), “… my way and my RiV’ee (laying down).” And through this union, there is a mile and a half. “A mile” hints to the drawing of souls to their sons, which is termed “a whole mile,” whereas the shining [by] which the souls shine, illuminate and arouse the Jewish sinners to repentance and give birth to the souls of converts is termed “half.”

The reason for this is that [these baaley teshuvah and converts] are still very far from holiness, and are likely to encounter many obstacles. One has to expend great effort in order to strip them of the soiled garments which they put on, as in (Zekhariah 3:4), “Remove the soiled garments.” For it is these soiled garments that prevent them from returning to the Holy One. They are barriers, just as a river bars passage and makes it impossible to journey on in the direction of that river. These soiled garments are barriers that must be thrown off. And this is:

It cast a ball of dung which obstructed the Jordan River — By stripping and throwing off the soiled garments from them, all the obstacles and partitions separating them from holiness are eliminated.

obstructed the Jordan River — This is because the Jordan separates between the holiness of the Land of Israel and the Diaspora. And this is the reason they are called “half,” for one still has to throw off the soiled garments from them in order to remove the barriers, obstacles and partitions separating them from holiness. But these souls which the Torah scholars draw down to their sons are termed “a whole mile,” for they have no separating partitions.

This is the meaning of “and you shall honor it” (Isaiah 58:13) —honor it with clean garments! (Shabbat 119a). “Clean garments” alludes to throwing off the soiled garments. For this is the essence of God’s glory: “If you take out the precious from the vile”—to induce people to repent and to draw down the souls of converts.

And when converts convert, they come under the wings of the Shekhinah (Divine Presence) (Sanhedrin 96b). This is why [the convert] is called a ger tzedek (righteous convert) (Zohar, Introduction, p. 13). As is brought in the Zohar (II, 93a): “Clean garments” is kanfey (garment corners of) mitzvah. This alludes to the Shekhinah, which is known as “mitzvah,” as in (Psalms 119:172), “All Your mitzvot are righteousness.” And this is the meaning of “and you shall honor it.” For this is the essence of His glory: to bring converts under the kanfey (wings) of the Shekhinah.

[Fear of God]
Each person, according to his level, can be aware of glory’s elevation to the source of fear. To that degree that he honors those who fear God, the glory [i.e., God’s honor,] ascends to its source—the source of glory being there [in fear]. This corresponds to (Psalms 15:4), “He honors those who fear God.” Because, as long as the glory is in exile, each person, in his own way, disgraces those who are God-fearing; whereas, to the degree that he rectifies the glory, he correspondingly honors those who fear God.

[Honor God]
And the essential thing is that a person sincerely honor those who fear God. As our Sages taught: Of those things which are given over to [i.e., hidden in] the heart, it is said, “And you shall fear your Lord!” (Kiddushin 32b). Therein lies the essence of glory, as in (Isaiah 29:13), “With their lips they honor Me, but their hearts they have distanced from Me.”

[Universal Peace]
When a person returns the glory to its source, i.e., to fear, and thus completes that which is lacking in fear, he then merits peace.

There are two types of peace. There is the peace in one’s bones, for a person must first see to it that he has inner peace. Because, at times, there is no peace, as in (Psalms 38:4), “There is no inner peace because of my sin.” But through the fear, a person merits peace in his bones. As is brought in the Zohar (II, 79a): In the place where there is fear, there you will find wholeness, as in (Psalms 34:10), “For those who fear Him lack nothing.”

 when a person has inner peace, he is then able to pray. For the essence of [praising God in] prayer is achieved through fear, corresponding to (Proverbs 31:30), “A woman who fears God, she shall be praised.” This is because prayer is in place of the KoRBan (sacrifice), and of the sacrifice it is written (Leviticus 21:18), “Any man who is blemished shall not yiKRaV (draw close).” But when he is not blemished—that is, “In a place where there is fear”—he can then draw close to perform a complete service.

And this is what is written of Chanah (1 Samuel 1:13), “Now, Chanah was speaking to her heart”— through fear she merited to prayer, for the essence of fear is in the heart.

And through prayer, a person merits universal peace—i.e., perfection of the worlds. This is the reason why prayer is called a KoRBan, by virtue of its bringing the worlds KeiRuV (closer) to their perfection.

[GaLGaLa ♦ sphere]
'''This is what Rabbah bar bar Chanah recounted: This merchant said to me, “Come, I will show you the place where earth and heaven kiss.” I went and saw that many windows had been created. I took my basket and placed it in the window of heaven. After I finished praying, I wanted to take [my basket] but could not find it. “Are there thieves here?” I asked. The merchant said to me, “It is the galgala (sphere) of heaven which turned. Wait until this time tomorrow and you will find it”''' (Bava Batra 74a).

Rashbam:

where earth and heaven kiss - there was a high place there where one meets the other; though this was not the end of the universe, for the universe extends a distance of five hundred years. And the Land of Israel, which is where Rabbah bar bar Chanah was, is the middle of the universe, as in (Ezekiel 38:12), "They live at the center of the earth": my basket - my bread basket:  which turned - it turns around, as is taught in Pesachim (94b):  It is the sphere of heaven which rotates and the constellations which are stationary.

♦

where earth and heaven kiss — This alludes to inner peace. “Earth” corresponds to the body; “heaven” corresponds to the soul.  It is written (Psalms 50:4), “He calls to the heavens above…”—this is the soul; “… and to the earth”—this is the body (Sanhedrin 91b).

And when there is peace between them, then through this: windows had been created —  prayer is created, as in (Daniel 6:11), “The windows of his upper room were directed [towards Jerusalem… and he prayed].”

I took my basket and placed it in the window of heaven — “Basket” denotes livelihood, as in [the expression]: “One who has bread in his basket…” (Yoma 74b).

In other words, [Rabbah bar bar Chanah] did not want to engage in any of the mundane endeavors of this world, but only for [the spiritual growth of] his soul. Even all his prayers were solely to bind his soul. Even those prayers specified in the Amidah that are for one’s material needs—such as “Heal us” and “Bless us [for this year and its livelihood],” as well as the other requests for the material necessities—[when he recited them,] Rabbah bar bar Chanah’s intention was not for his body but for his soul. What he had in mind was his soul’s livelihood and healing. And this is: I took my basket and placed it in the window of heaven. He took the prayer that is for the needs of the body and “placed it” entirely for the needs of his soul. For it automatically follows that when there is a rectification in the spiritual, the physical is also rectified.

After I finished praying, I wanted to take [my basket] but could not find it — In other words, he did not afterwards have enough for his livelihood. Though he had rectified the spiritual, even so, abundant material blessing had not come to him.

'''Are there thieves here? I asked''' — [Thieves] who have stolen my blessing of abundance. [The merchant] answered him:

It is the GaLGaLa (sphere) of heaven which turned — This has to do with the GiLGuL (reincarnation) of souls, which is what causes the righteous to have insufficient livelihood.  concerning Rabbi P’dat: “If you so desire, the world shall be destroyed and perhaps you will be reborn in a time of material prosperity” (Taanit 25a; Tikkuney Zohar #69).

And this is: “Make kinim (compartments) for the ark” (Genesis 6:14). In the Midrash we find: Just as the kinim (bird offering) purifies the leper, so, too, your ark is your purification (Bereishit Rabbah 31:9). The leper is “the whisperer who separates close friends” (Proverbs 16:28). He separates husband and wife (Arakhin 16b), because of which “he sits alone” (Leviticus 13:46). Yet, the bird offering purifies him. “So, too, TeyVaTkha (your ark)….”—i.e., TeyVaT (the word of) prayer rectifies the strife and creates universal peace, the peace of all the worlds. And this is why the Amidah concludes with [the blessing for] peace.

[Source of Glory]
This is the explanation [of the opening verse]: {“Tik’u (Blow) a shofar bachodesh (at the New Moon); bakeseh (at the appointed time) for the day of our festival.”}

TiK’u — This connotes peace, as in (Isaiah 22:23), “And TeKativ (I will affix him) as a stake in a secure place.” baChoDeSh shoFaR — With a hitPaRut ChaDaSh (new glory)—i.e., the elevation of His glory by drawing close the converts or baaley teshuvah.

bakeseh — This is the aspect of fear, which is the source of glory. KeSeh is similar to hitKaSyah (hidden). This corresponds to, “Of those things which are given over to [i.e., hidden in] the heart, it is said, ‘And you shall fear your Lord!’”—for [fear] is a thing which is hidden from all eyes.

for the day of — This alludes to peace in the home. For “day” is an aspect of light, as is written (Genesis 1:5), “And the Lord named the light ‘Day.’” And light denotes peace in the home, as our Sages taught: The Shabbat lights take precedence over the Kiddush of the day—because peace in the home comes first (Shabbat 23b).

our festival — This corresponds to prayer, Divine service. As our Sages taught: Why is the Torah chapter on idolatry adjacent to that of the festivals? This is to teach that anyone who disgraces the festivals, it is as though he serves idolatry (Pesachim 118a). We see, therefore, that keeping the festival is an aspect of a complete service. And what is service if not prayer (Sifri 102) ? And through prayer one comes to universal peace, as above.

We see, therefore, that someone who wants to draw universal peace has to elevate the glory to its source—i.e., to fear. And through fear, he merits peace in the home. Through peace in the home he then merits prayer. And through prayer, he merits universal peace.

[Prayer]
This lesson applies to the following verses (Psalms 145:9-11): “God is good for all, and His mercies are upon all His works. All Your works will praise You, God; Your pious ones will bless You. They will speak of the glory of Your Kingdom and talk of Your might.”

“God is good for all.” This is the aspect of prayer; that the person believes in God, that the Holy One is good for all: for health, for livelihood, for all things [a person needs]. When a person believes this, then the main focus of his efforts will certainly be for the Holy One, rather than pursuing all kinds of strategies. This is because when one does not believe in the Holy One, he must work at all kinds of strategies. For example: If he is sick, he must work at getting all sorts of medicines. And there are times when the particular medicines he needs are not available in his country, whereas those medicines that are available are useless for his illness. The Holy One, however, “is good for all” illnesses—to heal them. He is also always available, as is written (Deuteronomy 4:7), “Who is… like God our Lord is, whenever we pray to Him!”

And through prayer, a person merits universal peace. This is the meaning of, “His mercies are upon all His works.” In other words, God’s mercies are drawn upon all created beings. The created beings will have mercy for one another, and there will be peace between them. As it is written (Isaiah 11:6,9), “And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid… they shall not harm or destroy”—for there will be peace between them. This is: “His mercies are upon all His works.” As our Sages taught: Whoever has mercy on [God’s] creations, Heaven has mercy upon him, as is written (Deuteronomy 13:18), “And He will give you mercy and have mercy upon you” (Shabbat 151b).

Afterwards, the verse explains how to merit prayer, [in that] through peace in the home one achieves inner peace—between his body and soul, as above. And this is: “All maaseykha (Your works) will praise You.” [The word] maASeYkha corresponds to ASiYah, the body.

“And chasidekha (Your pious ones) will bless You.” ChaSiDekha alludes to the soul, as in (Proverbs 11:17), “The man of CheSeD (kindness, piety) is beneficent to his own soul.”

Then the verse explains how to merit peace in the home: by elevating the glory of the Holy One to the source of fear, which is called “mighty.” This is: “They will speak of the glory of Your Kingdom”—His glory will be revealed and ascend to its source. And thus, “… and talk of Your might”—“might” corresponds to fear. As our Sages taught: “And the Lord does it so that they should fear Him” (Proverbs 3:14) —this refers to thunder (Berakhot 59a) ; and it is written (Job 26:14), “But who can understand the thunder of His might?”

[Chanukah]
And this corresponds to the mitzvah of the Chanukah candle. There is a requirement to light it next to the entrance of the house (Orach Chaim 671:5). This is because lighting the candle corresponds to the illumination of the glory, as in, “The earth was illuminated by His glory.” The mitzvah, therefore, is to light it next to the entrance of the house: this is the supernal entrance, corresponding to fear—i.e., the returning of the glory to its source, which is fear, as mentioned above.

And when is it that the glory ascends? when we bring people to return in repentance and make baaley teshuvah and converts. For this is His main glory, as above.

This is why the time for lighting the Chanukah candle, which is the illumination of the glory, is from the time the stars come out until people stop walking about in the street (Orach Chaim 672:1). “From the time the stars come out” corresponds to “… and those who turn the many to righteousness like the stars” (Daniel 12:3) —i.e., they turn the many to righteousness and make baaley teshuvah and converts. For it is through this that the glory shines and returns to it source, which is fear. As a result, one merits peace and strife is eliminated, as explained.

And this is the meaning of “until people stop walking about in the street.” { The street is the place of the external forces (Pri Etz Chaim, Chanukah). } ReGeL (walking about) alludes to “the whisperer who separates close friends”—i.e., those who engage in slander and strife. These people m’RaGeL (go about snooping) and speaking gossip and slander, inciting strife and friction between friends and between husband and wife. This corresponds to (Psalms 15:2), “He that does not RoGaL (slander) with his mouth.”

This is why it is necessary to illuminate and light the Chanukah candle next to the entrance—i.e., illuminate the glory and return it to the source of fear until peace is merited and “the whisperer who separates close friends” is eliminated and destroyed. And this is: “until people stop walking about in the street.” Those who engage in slander and gossip, who slander with their mouths, are [stopped and] eliminated; and peace is increased in the world.

And through peace people merit prayer, through which they then merit universal peace, peace in all the worlds. And then, when they will merit universal peace, all business activity will be eliminated from the world. This is because all business activity in the world stems from a lack of peace. For it is impossible for the will of the seller and the buyer to be the same; this one wants to sell while the other one wants to buy. If their wants were the same, it would be impossible to transact any business.

We see, therefore, that all business activity and trade come only through the concept of strife, when there is no peace between the wills. This is alluded in (Genesis 13:7), “Friction existed between the shepherds of Avram’s flocks and the shepherds of Lot’s flocks; and the Kanaanites were then living in the land.” “Kanaan” alludes to a trader, as in Rashi’s explanation of the verse (Hosea 12:8), “As for Kanaan, the balances of deceit are in his hand.” In other words, due to the aspect of friction and strife—corresponding to “Friction existed…”—through this, “the Kanaanites were then living in the land”—there are traders and business activity in the world.

But in the Future, when there will be the wondrous peace in the world—as in, “And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid…”—then all business activity will be eliminated. As is written (Zekhariah 14:21), “And the Kanaanites will be no more.”

And this is also the aspect of “until people stop walking about in the street” [literally, “until there is not a regel (foot) in the marketplace”]. In other words, the mitzvah of lighting the Chanukah candle until people stop walking about in the marketplace corresponds to peace, which comes about through returning the glory until such time as all business activity is eliminated. Thus, “until people stop walking about in the street” indicates that there will not remain a regel in the marketplace; because of the peace, all business activity will have been eliminated, as mentioned above.

[Strife]
The following piece applies to what was taught above.

'''To that degree that he honors those who fear God, the glory [God’s honor] ascends to its source…. Because, as long as the glory is in exile, each person, in his own way, disgraces those who are God-fearing; whereas, to the degree that he rectifies the glory, he correspondingly honors those who fear God. '''

Now, through this—i.e., through the honor shown for those who fear God, which is the concept of returning the glory to its source, to fear—we merit peace, as has been thoroughly explained.

And this is as our Sages taught: Anyone who disgraces a Torah scholar is afflicted with an incurable ailment (Shabbat 119b). For when a person disgraces a Torah scholar or ridicules those who fear God, he blemishes the glory and does not return it to the source of fear. As a result, he does not merit peace, and so his ailment remains incurable.

This is because all illnesses stem from the aspect of strife. For all illnesses correspond to strife in that there is no peace in his bones. The yesodot (elements) are in conflict with one another and do not function peacefully and in proper balance. As a result, he suffers illness, as is known.

Therefore, when he disgraces a Torah scholar and blemishes the peace, his ailment is incurable. For the essence of healing comes through peace, as mentioned above. This corresponds to (Isaiah 57:19), “Peace, peace, for both far and near, says God; and I will heal him.”

When this lesson was given, Rabbeinu z’l also mentioned the teaching of our Sages: No eulogies are made during Chanukah (Shabbat 21b; Orach Chaim 670). However, I do not recall his explanation of this. {Based on my limited knowledge, it seems that the eulogy is meant to rectify the departure of the glory. The [glory] was blemished by the passing of this tzaddik, whose “turning the many to righteousness” brought about the main illumination of the glory. This is similar to what our Sages taught: A eulogy: Is it to honor the living or to honor the dead (Sanhedrin 46b) ? This is why during Chanukah no eulogies are made. For then, the glory shines due to the Chanukah candle, as mentioned above.}

[See sections 2-5] above.

This is the meaning of “And humility precedes glory” (Proverbs 15:33) —for it is through humility that one merits glory. As was mentioned above, the main elevation of the glory comes through the making of baaley teshuvah and converts, which can only be achieved by means of the Torah of lovingkindness, etc. And it is impossible to merit Torah, except through humility, as explained earlier. We find, therefore, that it is impossible to merit glory in holiness except by means of humility. This is: “And humility precedes glory.”