Likutay Moharan - Torah-teaching 18

18 - Kartalisa - Treasure Chest

[In the words of our Rabbi, his memory for blessing] Rabbi Yonasan relates: One time I was going on a ship, and we saw that kartalisa (chest), that had fixed in it good stones and pearls, and surrounding her (were) kinds of fish that are called birsha. A bar Amora'ai (diver/swimmer) descended to bring it, and (one of the fish) took offense, and wanted to remove his thigh (atmay), and/so he threw some (‘zeeka of) vinegar (at the attacking fish) and it abated/descended. A bas koal (Heavenly proclamation) went out and said: What (business) do you have with the kartalisa (chest) of the wife of Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa, who is destined to put tichailess in it for the tzadikim in the World to Come (Bava Basra 74a). (Rashi) Rashbam: Kartalisa - argaz (chest): that are called birsha - that is their name: bar Amora'ai - a man who knows how to swim in the waters: wanted to take off an atma (limb) - that sought to chop his thigh: threw to him vinegar - vinegar, and it fled from its smell to the sea: to put in it - to conceal in it.

(The exact language of our Rebbe of blessed memory)

Rabbi Yonasan relates: One time I was going on a ship, and I saw this kartalisa (chest) etc.

1. Know, that for every thing there is a tachlis (purpose/apex/end), and for the tachlis there is still another tachlis, higher above higher. For example: the tachlis of building the house - so that the person will have a place to rest and the tachlis of the rest - so that he can with this power serve Hashem, and the tachlis of the service etc.

And the tachlis of every thing is connected to the thought and the intellect more than the thing (itself), because ‘soaf (the end, finished) ma’aseh (work, product) is in the beginning thought’ (Licha Doadee); it comes out, that the end and the tachlis is first in the thought, and close to it, and from the tachlis there evolved (chain of developments) the action. For example: when it comes (up) to mind to build (him) a house, certainly the house is not built in one shot, rather, one needs to prepare wood and to hew and to build every piece of wood according to its need, and after that, the house is built and completed. It comes out, that the completion of the house, which is the tachlis of the building and its end, was in the thought first. It come out, that the tachlis is closer to the thought, more than the beginning of the action.

2. And know, that the tachlis (purpose/apex/end) of the creation is delight of the World to Come (Avos 4:16, Mesilas Yeshurim), and it is impossible to bring this tachlis close to the thoughts of people, because this tachlis, upon it is said (Isaiah 64:3): "Eye has not seen etc." But the true tzadikim (righteous ones), they also can grasp in their thought the tachlis of the World to Come, and every single one from Israel, according to his root that that he has inside the soul of the tzadik, so he receives from him also this tachlis, according to the ‘nullification of anger with mercy’, that is, when a person comes to a state of anger, he shouldn’t do in his anger any cruelty, and on the contrary, he should sweeten the anger with mercy, in the aspect of: "In wrath remember mercy" (Habakkuk 3:2), and by this there is made a crown for the humble who flee from honor and (from taking) authority, and make themselves like remnants. And when they are crowned with the crown of mercy, in the aspects of (Psalms 103:4): "Who crowns you (with) kindness and mercies", then they receive the honor and the authority against their will. And this is (Isaiah 28:5): "Crown of tzvee (desirous, splendor. In contradistinction to the crown of haughtiness, Ridak) for the shi’airees (remnant) of his people" (this term alludes to humility as the Sages said, li’shi’airees) for he who places himself like remnants (Megillah 15b).

Because this that the tzadik flees from (taking) authority and the honor, and does not want to lead the world, this thought comes to them from aspect of the concealment of the countenance of Hashem, by the minimality of faith (the people of) Israel have. Because according to the large amount of heresy (denial), Heaven forbid, so is the concealment of the face of Hashem, and he does not want to lead them. And this concealment is the aspects of his anger and wrath which comes through idolatry, as the saying: all the time that there is idolatry in the world, wrath is in the world (Sifrey Parshas Ri'ay). And even when there is no idolatry in the world, but the faith isn’t so much in completion, then also wrath and His concealment are according to the minimality of the faith. And because His wrath is for a moment (rega), as it is written (Psalms 30:5): "Because a moment in his anger", through this it is not felt except when there is idolatry in the world, but without idolatry, just, by lack of comple faith, then certainly it is not felt the little wrath which is in the span of a moment, and the concealment of the countenance of Hashem is not recognizable.

But the evolved wrath, when it comes to the tzadikim (righteous ones), then they hide their faces from the world, and do not want to lead the world. And because the wrath is very little ("a little from a little"), from the little portion of the moment, through this they do not attribute the hiding of their faces to [G-d’s] wrath, but they attribute the hiding of their faces to their smallness, and they make themselves like remnants and say that they are not worthy to lead the world. And in truth, they also do not know and feel the wrath, because it is very little ("little from the little").

And this is: when Moshe minimized (humbled/made small) himself from going to Egypt and to be a leader, he said (Exodus 3:11): "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh", and the rest of his words, it is written (Exodus 4:14): "And the anger of G-d burned against Moshe". The interpretation: this minimization, that he did not want to be a leader, this was because the wrath of G-d had evolved in him, as above. But by sweetening the wrath and the anger with mercy, as above, then the wrath that is within the tzadikim is sweetened by the mercy, and then the mercy prevails over them, and they have mercy on the world, and are appeased in their leadership, and accept upon themselves the authority of the leadership. And with this mercy, they lead the world in the aspect of (Isaiah 49:6): "For in their mercies He will lead them". It is found, that this mercy is their crown that crowns them in the attribute of kingship and leadership.

And this is the aspect of: kartalisa (chest) that has fixed in it good stones. Kartalisa, Rashi explained it as argaz (chest). Argaz is the aspect of roagez (anger) as above, and good stones are the aspect of the crown, the aspect of mercy as above, and surrounding it are kinds of fish that are called birsha. This is the aspect of faith, as it is said (Isaiah 55:13): "Under the na’atzutz will ascend beroash" (beroash [cypress, sharing root BRSh with birsha]), this is Mordechai (Megilah 10b), and he was called a Yehudi (Jew) on account of denying the service of idols, as it is said (Megilah 13a): "All who deny idolatry are called Yehudi".

3. And sometimes a person thinks in himself that he has mercy on the world and wants to lead it, but in truth, this is pursuing after honor, and he attributes his pursuit to mercy, but in truth, he is far from mercy. This is because, as long as a person does not have faith in completion, that there is no completion after it, certainly he is not fit to receive the kingship and the leadership. And even one who believes in some thing that is from the ways of the Emoaree (see Tosefta Shabbos, Chapter 7, Halacha 8), even though he believes in Hashem, blessed is He, certainly he is not fit to receive the leadership, because the leadership, its main (essence) is in the aspect of mercy (rachamim), and the main (essence) of mercy is in the removal of idolatry, even a trace of idolatry. And even when he says a deer (tzvi - same word as above regarding the crown), crossed his path (similar to the modern day black cat, this is one of the ways of the Emoaree - Sanhedrin 65b), he does not have mercy in completion; therefore, he is not fit to receive the leadership. Even one who has great faith, until he examines himself that there remains in him no beliefs that are not necessary to believe, such as the ways of the Emoaree as above, and that he will be "perfect (tumim) with Hashem his G-d" (Deuteronomy 18:13), then the mercy is in truth, and he is worthy to lead. But one who does not have faith in completion, and it seems that he has mercy on the world, and wants to lead the world, this is the aspect of (Sotah 49b): "And the kingship will turn (around) to heresy", because a little heresy damages the kingship, (damaging) in the aspect of leadership, and turns it to heresy, (just) like he turns (around) the kingship to himself, [him being] a mild heretic.

4. And know, that the faith always strengthens the kingship and the leadership, so that a stranger who is not worthy of it does not take it.

And know, that the essence of the kingship, its root is in wisdom, in order to know how to lead and to rule. Therefore, every king has wise men and advisors, because through this his kingship is established, and his country endures. And this is (Deuteronomy 33:5): "And he was in Yeshurun a king, when the heads of the people gathered", that is, through the heads of the people, who are the minds and the wisdom, through them the aspect of kingship is established. And through the love of the wise, the kingship is established. And when some hatred toward the wise comes to a king, it is known to him that from the heavens they bring him down from his kingship, because there is no endurance for the world without wisdom, in the aspect of (Proverbs 29:4): "A king by justice establishes the land". And the justice is the aspect of the wise, in the aspect of (Leviticus 26:15): "And if your souls abhor My judgments", and it is expounded (Torat Kohanim): this is the one who hates the wise.

It comes out, that one who does not have faith in completion, due to the ways of the Emoaree, when he comes to take for himself the kingship and the leadership, and he is not worthy of it, then the faith that surrounds the leadership, which holds the leadership that a stranger does not touch it, causes this man to fall into hatred of the wise, so that the kingship and the leadership do not endure in his hand. And certainly, it does not endure in his hand, because the essence of the kingship depends on justice as above. But if this one who holds the kingship strengthens in heresy and denial, until he separates the faith from the leadership, from the aspect of the kingship, from holding the kingship, then it can be that the kingship endures in his hand, because there is no one who causes him to fall into hatred of the wise, because the faith is separated from the kingship.

And this is: and the bar Amora’ai (diver, swimmer) descended to bring [the kartalisa], and [the birsha] wanted to remove his atma (limb, thigh). The bar Amora’ai, (similar to the word Emoaree), this is one who does not have faith in completion as above. atma (limb. thigh), this is the aspect of (Isaiah 33:15): "Oatem (He stops, closes) his ear from hearing blood", that he does not hear the belittling of a rabbi (tzurva dirabonon a generic term for Torah scholars, but might connote, budding, young, or even fiery. Makkot 24a), that is, the birsha (fish/faith [root: BRSh]) mentioned above, wanted to cause him to fall into hatred of the wise. And he threw a spark (flask, dash) of vinegar, and it descended. Vinegar is the aspect of strengthening the heresy, the aspect of (Psalms 73:11): "For my heart was embittered (yischametz - choametz means vinegar)". Through this, the birsha (alluding to Emunah-faith, which is then separated from the kingship-) descended as above.

5. And in truth, the kings of idolatry, even though they rule over us, do not have [their kingship] in the aspect of the kingship of Israel, and they do not touch it. Because whoever wants to touch it, this one and that one, it does not endure in their hands. That is, even their kingship over the nations of the world is taken from them, because the faith that surrounds our kingship causes their wisdom to fall, that their kingship depends on it as above. And this is what is written about the downfall of Egypt (Isaiah 19:3): "The princes of Tzoan (Tunis) are foolish". Through foolishness, that is, the falling of their wisdom, their kingship fell.

And this is what Chananya, Mishael, and Azarya said to Nevuchadnezzar: You are king over us for tribute (taxes), but to lead us in services and in faiths, you and a dog are equal (Vayikra Rabbah 33:6, Bamidbar Rabbah 15:16, Midrash Shir HaShirim). That is, they said that he did not touch the kingship of Israel, which belongs to our faith, because our faith surrounds the kingship and guards it from a stranger touching it and causes its pursuers to fall into hatred of the wise. If not that the hand of heresy strengthens over the faith, until it causes the faith to fall, and then it can receive our kingship, G-d forbid, in the aspect of "and he threw vinegar and it descended" as above.

6. But know, that from the heavens they do not allow him to take it, in the aspect of: and a bas koal (Heavenly proclamation) went out: What is it to you with the kartalisa (chest) of the wife of Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa, who is destined to put in it tichailess (blue dye, similar to the word tachlis purpose) for the tzadikim (righteous ones) for the World to Come. That is, through the perfection of the letters of the words of faith, which is the aspect of the wife of Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa, because Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa is the aspect of faith, because the measure of his faith is the aspect of (Berachos 17b): "And Chanina, my son, suffices with a kav of carobs". A kav of carobs is the measure of faith, carobs are the aspect of cypresses (beroshim), the aspect of birsha (fish/faith [root: BRSh]) as above. And the wife (AiSheSs - אשת) is the aspect of the letters, whose perfection is through faith, in the aspect of the initials of the words: Avunim Shelaimoas Tivneh (Whole Stones should be used to Build) (אֲבָנִים שְׁלֵמוֹת תִּבְנֶה) (Deuteronomy 27:6), forming Asht (wife). And stones, they are the letters, as it is said (Sefer Yetzirah): Three stones build six houses. And the letters are completed by faith, in the aspect of (Zephaniah 3:9): "Then I will turn to the peoples a pure language". That is, through faith, which is the aspect of (continuation of the verse) "to call all of them in the name of Hashem," through this I will turn a pure language, the aspect of the perfection of speech.

And the perfection of the letters, this is the aspect of the tachlis (purpose/apex/end) of all the created, because all the worlds were created by letters, and the perfection of the letters is the yud י (see Zohar Chadash, Shir HaShirim, on "If you do not know"), which is the aspect of the World to Come, created with the yud (as our Rabbis of blessed memory said, Menachot 29b), because the yud is the final point that completes the form of every letter. Because when the final point that completes the form of the letter is lacking, then certainly there is no perfection to the letter, and it has no form. And the letters are in the kingship and the leadership as above, in the aspect of the kingship of the mouth (peh) (in Petach Eliyahu), because the essence of leadership is through speech, because it is impossible to lead and to command except through speech.

It is found, through the perfection of the letters of faith that are in the kingship, through this the tzadikim know the tachlis of the World to Come, because the tzadikim, who lead the world in the aspect of (II Samuel 23:3): "The tzadik rules", they grasp the attribute of kingship, and through their grasping of the kingship, they grasp the letters that are in it, and through their grasping of the complete letters, they grasp the tachlis, which is the perfection of the letters, which is the aspect of the yud, the aspect of the World to Come.

And this is the aspect of tichailess, which is the aspect of tachlis (see Zohar, Shelach 175a, Pinchas 226a, Tikkun 21), that is revealed inside the kartalisa (chest), inside the leadership and the kingship as above, through the wife of Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa, through "avanim shelaimos tivneh" (with whole stones you shall build - acronym; AiSheS - wife) for the tzadikim to the World to Come, that the tzadikim attain the tachlis, which is the World to Come as above.

And this is the aspect of (Proverbs 3:6): "In all your ways know Him", that a person can attain the tachlis in every thing, because every thing was created with letters, and in every letter there is in it perfection, that is, the final point, which is the yud, the aspect of the World to Come, which is the tachlis that completes the form of the letter as above.

7. And the tachlis (purpose/apex/end) is called tichailess (blue dye) because the tichailess mixes black with white, and it is the shade that is between black and white. And when black and white are joined, like the writing, which is the aspect of black on top of white, certainly the bottom of the letter, which is attached and close to the paper, which is white, in the place of attachment and closeness, there they mix black with white in the aspect of tichailess. And the bottom of the letter is the end and the tachlis, because when the scribe writes and places the reed and the pen with the ink on the paper, certainly the ink is distant from the paper a little, until the scribe deepens the pen with the ink into the depth of the paper, and then the blackness of the ink is attached in the depth in great closeness. It is found that the closeness is the end and the tachlis, and in the place of the closeness, there the paper and the ink are mixed in the aspect of tichailess as above. Because such is the thing, that the tachlis, which is the end of the action, is in the thought first and close to the thought, as mentioned above. [It seems to my humble opinion to interpret, because the end of the action is the aspect of blackness, and the beginning of the thought is the aspect of whiteness, the upper, as is known. It is found that the end of the action, which is the tachlis, that is in the thought first and close to the thought, is the aspect of tichailess, which is the joining of black and white. And understand].

8. And this is specifically the bas koal (Heavenly proclamation) that went out, because the aspect of bas koal is the tachlis (purpose/apex/end) of all things, that is, it turns every thing from its head to its end, which is the tachlis, in the aspect of (Tamid 32a): "Who is wise? He who sees the born", which is the end and the tachlis. Because the bas koal is that which is heard when one emits a voice in a forest or in another place, then it is heard as if another also emits such a voice. And this we hear with our senses: when a person emits some speech, then we hear also this speech itself. It is found that the bas koal turns the speech from its head to its end and brings its end close to itself.

For example, when a person emits the speech of Baruch (blessed), certainly the letter ב (bet) comes out first and is distanced from the person, and after that, he emits the ר (reish) of Baruch, and then the ר is closer to the emission than the ב, and so the כ (kaf), which he emits last, is closer to the person than the ר. And the bas koal takes this word Baruch and turns it from its head to its end and turns the ב to be closer to the person than the ר, and the ר than the כ. It is found that the כ, which is the end and tachlis of the word, which was first from the bas koal in the tachlis of distance, now is close in the tachlis of closeness, because we hear that the bas koal emits the word Baruch: first ב, and after ר, and after כ. It is found that the כ, which is the tachlis, which was first in the tachlis of distance from the bas koal, now was brought close in the tachlis of closeness, because the bas koal turned the word. The bas koal specifically informed this: What is it to you with the kartalisa (chest) of the wife of Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa, who is destined to cast in it tichailess for the tzadikim (righteous ones) to the World to Come. [Until here the language of our Rabbi, his memory for blessing]

[The conclusion of the mishta’ay, that is: Rav Yehuda the Indian relates, and the rest of the sayings like these, brought there in Bava Basra after the sayings of Rabba bar bar Chana, which are: said to me Huna bar Natan etc., and the incident with Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua, all will come correctly in the book Likutay Tinyana in Torah 3 and 4 and 5, go please and see there, you will find repose for your soul).

[The concluding words of this section are published next]