Likutay Moharan - Torah-teaching 20

20 - Nine Precious Rectifications

[In the words of our Rabbi, his memory for blessing]

Third chapter [of Sifra diTzniusa (-Book of Concealment/Modesty)]

Nine precious tikunim (-rectifications) were delivered to the beard. All that is hidden and not revealed, upper and precious, is found, and he is a precious treasure: Hairs upon hairs from before the openings of the ears until the head [of the mouth], from this head to another head, found underneath two nostrils a full path that is not seen, cheeks covered from this side and from this side, in them are seen red apples like a rose, in one thread hang strong black [hairs] until joy, lips red like a rose are cleared, small [hairs] descend in the throat and cover the neck, great and small descend in balance, in these are found mighty and strong.

1. Know that there is a neshama [soul] in the world, that through her are revealed bayurim [explanations] and interpretations of the Torah, and she endures in sufferings: Bread with salt you shall eat, and water in measure you shall drink, for so is the way of Torah [Avos 6]. And all interpreters of the Torah, they receive from this the neshama, and this the neshama, all her words are like coals of fire, for it is impossible to receive and to draw the waters of the Torah except by one whose words are like coals of fire, in the aspect of: "Is not so My word like fire" [Jeremiah 23:29]. And when this neshama falls from the aspect of "Is not so My word like fire," and her words are not like coals of fire, and her words are cooled [metzunan], then she is withdrawn (passes away). And when she is passes away, then the bayurim [explanations] of the Torah drawn by her are withdrawn, and then all interpreters of the Torah cannot attain any bayur [explanation] of the Torah. And then strife is awakened upon the tzadikim [righteous ones], for the main controversy in the world is made by the withdrawal of the bayurim of the Torah, because the bayur, (it) is the resolution of difficulties and quarrels.

And this is the aspect of "Midbar Tzin" [Desert of Tzin - Numbers 20:1] (midbar - desert, is similar to: midabair - speaking. Tzin is like the word tzoanain - cool, cold), which is the aspect of cooled speech [dibbur metzunan], which is where Miriam died. [Miriam, whose name reflects מַר (mar, bitter)] is the aspect of the neshama enduring the bitterness of enslavement for the Torah. And then the בְּאֵר (bi’ayr [well], whose letters can be sounded as bayur [explanation]) was withdrawn, that is the aspect of the bayurim of the Torah. And then: "And the nation quarreled with Moshe", that is the aspects of the quarrel that awakened as above. And these interpreters of the Torah are called for this moarim [teachers], because they receive from the neshama above, nicknamed in the name Miriam also. They are also morim (teachers) to their teachers (moarayhem) [as brought in Rashi there], as it is said: "And from my students more than from all of them" [Ta’anit 7a]. And this is what Moshe said to them (Numbers 20:10): "Hear now, the morim" (Rashi says: that they are moarim moarayhem, albiet with a different explanation, see there).

2. And one who wants to draw bayurim (explanations) of the Torah needs first to draw to himself hot words like coals of fire, as above. And the dibbur [speech] is drawn from the supernal lev [heart], in the aspect of: "Rock of my heart" [Psalms 73:26].

And he needs to pour his sicha [words] in tefilla [prayer] before Hashem blessed be He. And by his tefilla, the mercies of Hashem blessed He are warmed upon him, and the lev hu'elyoan (supernal heart) is opened, for the main mercies are in the lev. And from the lev hu'elyoan are bestowed/flow out words (ETN: for his supplication, helping him pray atronger), and by the dibbur (words) he draws bayurim of the Torah also from there. And the lev (heart) above is the aspect of sela [rock], from which comes the dibbur, in the aspect of: "Words for a sela" [Megilla 18a, a coin, (silence for two)]. And sela is the aspect of tzur [rock], in the aspect of: "He opened the rock and waters flowed" [Psalms 105:41]. And it is the aspect of lev, the aspect of "Rock of my heart." And the lev is warmed in mercies and influences hot words, in the aspect of: "My heart is hot within me, in my meditation a fire burns, I spoke with my tongue" [Psalms 39:4]. And in this lev are written all bayurim of the Torah, in the aspect of: "Write them on the tablet of your heart" [Proverbs 3:3]. And whoever wants to take any bayur (explanation), he needs to take from this heart mentioned above, with prayer (and) supplication, as mentioned above.

And for this, every one of the interpreters of the Torah, before he begins to explain any bayur, needs first to pour his tefilla before Hashem blessed be He, in order to arouse the lev the upper to influence upon him words like coals of fire. And after that, he should begin to explain, because after that the tzur is opened and its waters flow, that is, the bayurim of the Torah.

3. And there is a difference between a bayur that a man explains between himself and himself, and a bayur that a man explains to the many. For when he expounds to the many, and before the bayur he connects himself with their neshamos [souls] and pours his sicha and his tefilla before Hashem blessed be He, certainly: "They, the mighty G-d, does not despise" [Job 36:5] [and see Berachos 8a]. But the tefilla of an individual, it is possible that it is despised in his tefilla. And this is the aspect of: "And speak to the rock before their eyes" [Numbers 20:8], that your tefilla should be at the time when the public is gathered, and this: "Gather the people" [Deuteronomy 31:12].

4. And this is the difference between one who learns from inside the book and one who hears from the mouth of the wise himself. For one who hears from the mouth of the wise himself certainly connects his neshama with the neshama of the wise at the time of his tefilla, as above. And this man has a portion in this bayur, for by the tefilla, kedusha [holiness] is added above. And every tefilla that goes out from many neshamos, it adds kedusha above and arouses more the lev the upper, as above. And the lev the upper pours the waters of the bayur more, all according to the many people; so is his kedusha, in the aspect of: "And You, holy, sitting in the praises of Israel" [Psalms 22:4]. By the praises of Israel, His kedusha is added.

Also, all these people standing at the time of the derush [exposition], their wickedness is subdued by the good that is in the wise who is expounding. And according to the subduing, so are subdued the enemies, that is, the klipos [spiritual husks] dwelling around the lev the upper, in the aspect of: "This is Yerushalayim, I placed her in the midst of the nations" [Ezekiel 5:5]. And she is the lev, in the aspect of: "Speak onto the heart of Yerushalayim" [Isaiah 40:2].

And this is the aspect of the staff that the Holy One blessed be He said to Moshe: "Take the staff and gather the congregation" [Numbers 20:8]. This staff is the aspect of the memsheles [authority] and power of the tzadik that is made by his service, that by him all the enemies are subdued, whether below or above. And this: "The staff of your strength G-d sends from Tzion" [Psalms 110:2], that is, the mitzvahs [commandments] and good deeds that are tziyunim [signposts] to things above, from which is made a staff of strength to subdue enemies. And this: "Rule in the midst of your enemies". Thus, one who is with the wise at the time of the bayur of the Torah, it is found that his evil is subdued, as above.

And this is: "Pour like waters your heart opposite the faces of G-d" [Lamentations 2:19]. The faces of G-d, this is the aspect of bayurim and derushim [expositions] of the Torah, as: "And you shall honor the faces of the elder" [Leviticus 19:32]. The elder, this is hadrat panim [majesty of face], and they are the thirteen tikunay of the beard, and they are the thirteen measures by which the Torah is expounded [see Zohar Acharei 62b]. That one needs to pour his sicha and tefilla before he draws bayurim of the Torah, as above. And this is: "And they fell on their faces" [Numbers 20:6]. When they heard the quarrel, they understood that by the bayurim of the Torah, which are the aspect of faces, as above, from their falling, from this the quarrel began.

5. And when one prays before the derush, he needs to pray in tachanunim [supplications] and request from Hashem blessed be He a gift gratis, and not rely on his own merit, even though now the staff of his strength of his service is awakened. This staff is not for boasting but to subdue the evil in the congregation, for among the many, there are good and evil, and he needs to subdue the evil in the evil ones, as above. But before Hashem blessed be He, he should stand like a poor and destitute person and speak tachanunim, and not rely on any merit. And this: "And I entreated to G-d at that time, saying" [Deuteronomy 3:23], that he needs to speak tachanunim at the time he wants to say, that is, before the derush (homily). And this is the error that Moshe erred, that the Holy One blessed be He said to Moshe: "Take the staff and gather the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes" [Numbers 20:8]. That he should take the memsheles of his strength that he has from his mitzvahs and good deeds, "and gather the congregation," for at the time of the gathering, when there are also evil ones, he needs the staff of strength to subdue their wickedness, as above. And after that, "and speak to the rock before their eyes," there is no dibbur except with gentleness [Shabbos 63b; Midrash Rabba Shir HaShirim near its end] [and see Zohar Teitzei 279b: "and speak to the rock" etc., in dibbur and appeasement]. That he should pour his sicha and tefilla in tachanunim, like a poor and destitute person, to the rock, that is, the lev the upper, as above, before their eyes precisely, that there be the gathering at the time of the deed, so that he connects himself with their neshama, as above. And he did not do so, for he remembered his good and his righteousness at the time of his tefilla, that he did not use the staff for the gathering but used the staff at the time of his tefilla. And this is the aspect of: "And Moshe raised his hand" [Numbers 20:11]. His hand, this is his tefilla, as it is written: "And his hands were faith" [Exodus 17:12], its targum: perisan bitzlo [spread in prayer], that he raised his tefilla and did not connect himself with the congregation. "And he struck the rock with his staff twice", as if: "He struck the rock and waters flowed" [Psalms 78:20], that he struck the lev the upper, as if taking something by force and coercion, because he came with the power of his good deeds. And this is the striking of the rock twice: One striking, that he took the bayurim of the Torah by force and coercion and did not request a gift gratis, as above. And one striking, for whoever presses the hour, the hour presses him [Berachos 64a], and he is withdrawn before his time. And upon his withdrawal, the Shechina, which is the lev above, she wails and cries over him. And this is: "twice," for Moshe and Aharon died by the striking, as it is written: "They are the waters of Meriva" etc.

And for this, a man should not press himself on anything but request in tachanunim (humble pleadings). If Hashem blessed be He gives to him, He gives, and if not, no. And this: "Because you did not believe in Me" [Numbers 20:12], that is, the tefilla as above, that he raised his tefilla from the tefilla of the congregation, that he did not tie himself with the congregation. And the tefilla is emuna [faith], as "And his hands were faith," "to sanctify Me before the eyes of the sons of Israel," to sanctify Me precisely, for by the tefilla of the many, the Name blessed be He is sanctified, as above. "Therefore you shall not bring etc. to the land," hinted at his withdrawal, for the kedusha is also added above at the time of the passing of the tzadik, as is known. Thus, what is lacking by them is completed by them.

6. And in the merit of the Torah that they draw, they merit the land of Israel, as it is written: "And He gave to them the lands of nations" [Psalms 105:44]. But the land of Israel, she is one of three things that come by sufferings [Berachos 5a]. And the main sufferings are the preventing of the wicked, issuers of evil report of the land. And one needs to subdue first these wicked ones and to punish them with charba [sword] and ketala [killing]. And by this, they can afterward go to the land of Israel. And this power to punish the wicked is impossible except when they receive this power from Edom, for this is his power, in the aspect of: "And by your sword you shall live" [Genesis 27:40]. And he draws from the constellation of Ma’adim [Mars; see Zohar Pinchas 219a].

7. And know that by the spiritual powers created from the letters of the Torah that were innovated, these powers, they are angels literally. And they receive the power from Edom to punish the wicked with charba and ketala. And they are created in the aspect of: "G-d gives a saying, the messengers, a great host" [Psalms 68:12]. And they punish the wicked in the aspect of: "For His angels He commands for you etc., on lion and viper you shall tread" [Psalms 91:11-13].

8. And these spiritual powers, that is, the angels, they are according to the innovation of the Torah. And the innovation of the Torah is according to the kedusha that is added above, as above. According to the abundance of kedusha, so is drawn the multitude of the Torah. And according to the abundance of the Torah, so is the multitude of the angels above. And so the opposite, that is, sometimes the kedusha is so diminished that the angels created from the innovations of the Torah are diminished in power, that there is no power in their hand to receive power to punish the wicked with sword and death. And they have no power except to subdue the wicked only and to bring softness in their heart, but not to punish them with charba (sword) to remove them.

9. And know, sometimes even to subdue them only, there is no power to these angels, for they are so diminished in power due to the diminution of the kedusha above. And they have only this power to arouse the power of the nations upon the wicked, issuers of evil report of the land, as now in the exile, when we have no power to punish the wicked by ourselves except in their judgments, in the aspect of: "The wicked surrounds the tzadik, therefore judgment goes out crooked" [Habakkuk 1:4]. For the wicked causes to surround the tzadik, and we have no power by ourselves to repel him except by their mishpat [judgment] to judge him in their judgments and to receive from them power to pursue the wicked.

And know that sometimes it is a cause from Hashem blessed be He that the wicked surrounds the tzadik, and the tzadik has no power in G-d’s hand to repel the wicked except by their mishpat. And by the power of the mishpat, the mishpat of kedusha that fell between the klipos goes out. The tzadik, he takes it out from between the klipos, and the mishpat goes out from its crookedness, for it was crooked between the klipos, in the aspect of: "And judgments they did not know" [Psalms 147:20]. And now it goes out from its crookedness and is straightened from its crookedness, and this is: "Therefore judgment goes out crooked."

10. And sometimes even this power they do not have, and they have no power neither to punish as above, nor to punish in their judgments as above, nor to bring softness in their heart. And they have no power except to silence them only, that they not speak evil before us, so that their words not enter the ears of the multitude of people. And sometimes even this power they do not have, all according to the diminution of the kedusha.

And this is: "And Moshe sent angels to the king of Edom" [Numbers 20:14], the angels above, "king of Edom" as above. "So said your brother Israel", that is, these angels were formed from the pure sayings of Israel, as above, in the aspect of: "G-d gives a saying, the messengers, a great host." "You knew the travail that found us, and our fathers descended to Egypt", "you knew" specifically, for all the punishments are by him, and in particular the exile of Egypt, which was due to the blemish of the bris [covenant/sexual purity], as is known. And on the blemish of the bris, a sword comes, in the aspect of: "A sword avenging" [Leviticus 26:25] [see Zohar Vayechi 240b; Zohar Va’eira 26b]. And he is appointed over the sword, as above.

"And the Egyptians did evil to us, and we cried to G-d our G-d, and He sent an angel". Our Sages of blessed memory interpreted [Vayikra Rabba 1; brought in Rashi there]: this is Moshe. "And He took us out", for the blemish of the bris is the blemish of da’as [knowledge], in the aspect of: "And Adam knew" [Genesis 4:1]. And the kol [voice] arouses the da’as, in the aspect of the kol arousing the kavana [intention; see Berachos 24b, HaRa’ash, Rabbeinu Yonah there; Shulchan Aruch 101, 61:4].

And for this: "And we cried etc." "And He heard our voice", and the kol arouses the da’as. "And He sent an angel", this is Moshe, the aspect of da’as. And by the revelation of the da’as in its tikun, then: "And He took us out". And for this, we say the Haggada in a loud kol, for the redemption was by kol, in the aspect of: "And He heard our voice." And for this, it is called Haggada, to indicate the tikun of the bris, in the aspect of: "And He told you His bris" [Deuteronomy 4:13]. And the main mitzvah is with yayin [wine], to indicate the tikun of the da’as, in the aspect of: In chamra [wine] and spices they open [Sanhedrin 70a], and in the aspect of: "tirosh" [new wine], he merited, became head [there], that is, da’as. "I will pass, please, in your land", that they wanted to go to the land of Israel by way of the powers of Edom, as above, to receive from him power to punish the wicked with charba and ketala, so that they can go in the way of the king, King of the world. And not for the pleasures of this world.

And this is: "We will not go in field and vineyard, and we will not drink waters of a well", this is the aspect of the pleasures of this world. All this is not our will, but our will is: "The way of the king we will go," so that the wicked not prevent us from going in the way of the King of the world. "And Edom said to him, You shall not pass in me, lest with a sword I go out to meet you", all this from the diminution of the kedusha, as above. And this is: "And we are in Kadesh, a city at the edge of your border", that is, because the kedusha is so in a lower level that it is at the border of the tumah [impurity], touching. And for this: "And he said, You shall not pass" etc., for one who is in a lower level should not provoke the wicked, for a tzadik is swallowed by him [Bava Metzia 71a].

"And they said to him, In the highway we will ascend" [Numbers 20:19], the aspect of highways in their heart [Psalms 84:6], to bring softness in their heart. "And if we drink your waters", your waters, this is the aspect of mishpat, in the aspect of: "And let judgment roll like waters" [Amos 5:24], that is, for sometimes one needs to bend the wicked in their mishpatim. "And we will give its price", its targum: es demeihon [its money], that is, the shochad [bribe] that they receive. And one needs to give them mamon [wealth] to take out mishpat from the crookedness in their will. "Only, no thing, in my feet I will pass", I want to go and to pass in your power to silence the wicked, so that their words not enter my feet, that is, the multitude of people nicknamed in the name raglayim [feet], as: "And all the people that are in your feet" [Exodus 11:8].

"And he said, You shall not pass", and all this is from the diminution of the kedusha, as above, for one needs to pour his tefilla before the Torah and to connect himself with the neshamos of the hearers. And by this, extra kedusha is added above, in the aspect of: "In the multitude of people is the splendor of the king" [Proverbs 14:28]. And according to the abundance of kedusha, so is the multitude of the illumination of the Torah. And according to the abundance of the illumination of the Torah, so are multiplied the powers of the angels. And according to the powers of the angels, so can one punish the wicked, issuers of evil report.

And this is the interpretation of the third chapter. Nine precious tikunay were delivered to the beard, that is, to the elder sitting in the yeshiva [academy] to expound. There were delivered to him nine aspects above: [1] Take the staff, as above. [2] And gather the congregation, to subdue their evil, as above. [3] And speak to the rock in tachanunim, as above. [4] Before their eyes, that he connect with them, as above. [5] To draw words of fire, as above. [6] To draw Torah, as above. [7] Creation of the angels, as above. [8] To receive power from Edom to subdue enemies, as above. [9] To come to the land of Israel, as above. And these tikunay that were delivered to the elder who expounds, all that is hidden and not revealed hints at the neshama, the aspect of Miriam, that was withdrawn, as above. It is found, an interpretation is found, now by this elder, all that was forgotten by the neshama that was withdrawn. And now he arranges and goes with nine tikunim.

The First Tikun: Hairs upon hairs, from before the openings of the ears until the head of the mouth, hairs (neemeen - the Aramaic of the Zohar), the aspect of si'aros (hairs in Hebrew, which has the same root as: shaar - gate), the aspect of: "Gates of Tzion" [Psalms 87:2], the aspect of: "The staff of your strength sends from Tzion," as above. From before the openings of the ears, that is, before they heard, if they can receive, until the head of the mouth, they opened their mouth and said na’ase [we will do]. And this: "That your mouth preceded your ears" [Kesuvos 112b].

The Second Tikun: From this head (side) to the other head (side), that is, to subdue their evil, as above. And in this, he takes them out from under the authority of the sitra achara [other side] and enters them under the authority of the kedusha, and this is from this head (side) to the other head (side).

The Third Tikun: Found underneath two nostrils a full path that is not seen (because it is covered with small hairs), that is, the aspect of chotem [nose], the aspect of: "And speak to the rock," as above, the aspect of: "And My praise echtoam to you" [Isaiah 48:9. The simple meaning; My praise is that I hold back from being angry with you. Rabbainu explains is, through prayer the anger is nullified]. A full path: "For there is no lack to His fearers" [Psalms 34:10]. And this is full, and yirah [fear] is the aspect of tefilla, the aspect of: "Fear of G-d, she shall be praised" [Proverbs 31:30], the aspect of chotem, the aspect of: "And he smelled in the fear of G-d" [Isaiah 11:3]. That is not seen, for he needs to minimize himself and not rely on his merit, as above, in the aspect of: "Do not glorify yourself before a king" [Proverbs 25:6].

The Fourth Tikun: Cheeks covered from this side and from this side, that is, the aspect of connection with their neshamos, and they cover him from every side.

The Fifth Tikun: (upper cheek, above the beard) Two red apples like a rose visible, apples, this is the aspect of the keys of the lev that are opened, that the mercies of the lev hu'elyon (supernal heart) are warmed and pour hot words, words of fire, the aspect of red like a rose, as above.

The Sixth Tikun: In one thread hang strong black [hairs] until the chest, this is the aspect of drawing the Torah, as above, that they are the aspect of: "Taltalim (Locks of hair) black like a raven" [Song of Songs 5:11], which are teelay teeleem (like taltalim) (mounds of mounds) of halachos [laws; Eruvin 21b], drawn until the chest, until the stomach (me’oi), in the aspect of: "And Your Torah in the midst of me'oi (my stomach)" [Psalms 40:9] (TN: even though the text of the Sifra Ditzneyusa says chest, in other places the Zohar says the top of the stomach, which would be the bottom of the chest).

And they hang in one thread, in the aspect of: "And around Him it storms greatly" [Psalms 50:3], that the Holy One blessed be He is precise with the tzadikim like a thread [Yevamos 121b]. And when they defect like a thread of hair, then there is no power in their hand to draw these halachos above.

The Seventh Tikun: Lips red like a rose cleared, that is, the creation of angels, as above, in the aspect of: "And by the spirit of His mouth all their host" [Psalms 33:6], red like a rose, in the aspect of: "His ministers, a flaming fire" [Psalms 104:4].

The Eighth Tikun: Small [hairs] descend in the throat and cover the neck, that is, to receive power from Edom to subdue enemies turning the neck. Small, this is the aspect of the power of Edom, the aspect of: "Small I made you among the nations" [Obadiah 1:2], descend in the throat, the aspect of the sword above, the aspect of: "Exaltations of G-d in their throat and a double-edged sword" [Psalms 149:6].

The Ninth Tikun: Great and small descend in balance, that is, the aspect of the land of Israel, divided to the tribes, that they are the aspect of small beasts with great [Psalms 104:25]. In these is found mighty and strong, that is, when he comes to the aspect of the land of Israel, then he is called mighty and strong. For before he comes to the aspect of the land of Israel, then: "Let not the one who girds boast like the one who ungirds" [I Kings 20:11]. But afterward, when he conquers, then he is called a man of war.

[This Torah was said on Rosh HaShana, on the verse: "Fortunate are the people who know the teru’a (sound of the shofar)" [Psalms 89:16]. But we did not merit to receive from his holy handwriting the bayur of this verse according to this Torah above. Also, before he said this Torah, some time before, he told of an awesome incident that he saw in the place that he saw, in waking or in a dream (Chayay Moharan - The Life of Our Leader Rabbi Nachman 83). And he said that the Torah of nine tikunim above is an interpretation of this awesome vision that he told. And if Hashem wills, there is still a vision for the appointed time to explain these words in another place with the help of Hashem blessed be He.]