Likutay Moharan - Torah-teaching 55

55 - Abba Shaul Says: I Was a Burier of the Dead

[In the language of our rabbi, of blessed memory:] It is taught in the Gemara [Niddah 24b]: Abba Shaul says: I was a burier of the dead. Once, I ran after a deer and entered the hollow bone of a dead person, etc.

1. Know that to see the downfall of the wicked is impossible except through the aspect of the Land of Israel: Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet [Psalms 110; see Zohar Lech Lecha 86a]. The right hand—this is the aspect of the Land of Israel, the aspect of Binyamin (Benjamin), son of the right hand, who was born in the Land of Israel [as brought in Rashi on parashat Vayishlach].

2. To draw down the aspect of the holiness of the Land of Israel now in exile—where it is under the dominion of the Other Side (sitra achra), and its holiness lacks the ability to be revealed—even so, it is possible to reveal and draw down its holiness even in this bitter exile: And even also this, when they are in the land of their enemies [Leviticus 26]. That is, even in this bitter exile, it is possible to reveal the aspect of "also this" (gam zot). And by what means can one draw down the holiness of the Land of Israel? Through the sparkling of the light of the merit of the forefathers [Zohar Shelach 174a]: In the place where the forefathers are present, there the Shechinah (Divine Presence) is present [there]. And I will remember My covenant with Jacob, etc., and the land I will remember [Leviticus 26]. When the light of the merit of the forefathers sparkles, then the holiness of the Land of Israel is revealed. And not only is the person saved from the wicked, but he also sees in the wicked what the wicked wanted to see in him.

3. For the wicked draw down the aspect of the evil eye upon those they hate, in the aspect of [Berachot 7a]: And not only that, but he sees [something negative] in those who hate him. A person is saved from this evil eye through studying [and finding] merit—that is, by learning merit on behalf of the wicked. For even the Holy One, blessed be He, teaches merit on behalf of the wicked in order to save the tzadik from the evil eye of the wicked. And this is what our sages, of blessed memory, said [there]: And not only that, but he merits in the judgment, as it is said: The height of Your judgments is before him [Psalms 10:5]. This "meriting" in the judgment—where merit is taught on his behalf—through this, the tzadik is saved from the evil eye of the wicked. For to remove the judgment and the trial, this requires the revelation of the Hand [of G-d], in the aspect of: And My Hand shall grasp the judgment [Deuteronomy 32:41]—so that it does not rule over the wicked. And when the Hand of Hashem is revealed, then a shadow is created in which the tzadik is covered from the poison of the evil eye, in the aspect of: And in the shadow of My Hand I have covered you [Isaiah 51:16]. For the wicked in this bitter exile—their eyes fly about like the gaze of a cast [metal figure], and the poison of their eyes gazes from afar, in the aspect of: They gaze, they see me [Psalms 22:18]. Through the shadow, the light of their eyes dims and darkens, so that their poison cannot harm. But for the tzadikim, the light of their eyes in this time is small, in the aspect of: Who is blind like the one who is paid [i.e., the servant of G-d] [Isaiah 42:19]. And through the shadow, the light of their eyes is strengthened—like those with weak vision who cannot see well when the light is strong and great, and they need a shadow in order to see. And this is: The wicked watches the tzadik and seeks to kill him [Psalms 37:32]—that is, with the evil eye, as above. Hashem will not abandon him into his hand—"into his hand" specifically, that is, through the revelation of the Hand of Hashem, as above. Nor will He condemn him when he is judged—through the aspect of: "And My Hand shall grasp the judgment," the aspect of "the height of Your judgments," as above. For through this, the light of the eyes of the wicked dims, in the aspect of: They have erred in vision, through pakku peliliyah [staggering in judgment] [Isaiah 28:7]—this is the aspect of judgment where one merits in the judgment; through this, "they have erred in vision," the light of their eyes darkens, as above.

And through the shadow, the light of the eyes of the tzadik is strengthened, as above, and he can see from afar, in the aspect of: I will lift my eyes to the mountains [Psalms 121:1]. He sees and attains the righteousness of Hashem, blessed be He, and can know and understand that Hashem is the Tzadik—even though the wicked merits in judgment, and this seems not in accordance with the measure of justice. He sees that the justice by which the Holy One, blessed be He, justifies the wicked in judgment—this is His righteousness: For I will not justify the wicked [Exodus 23:7]. And this is: "I will lift my eyes to the mountains"—this is the aspect of the righteousness of the Holy One, blessed be He, in the aspect of: Your righteousness is like the mountains of G-d [Psalms 36:7], even though Your judgments are suppressed in a great abyss.

4. And through the strengthening of the tzadik's vision—where he sees the righteousness of Hashem—his faith is strengthened, and he can pray. For his heart spreads out from its crookedness that it had before he saw the righteousness of Hashem. For through the righteousness of Hashem that he sees, the heart spreads from its crookedness and is straightened, in the aspect of: And Your righteousness to the upright of heart [there]. For initially, his heart was crooked from believing completely in Hashem, blessed be He, for it seemed to him that the Holy One, blessed be He, had distorted the judgment, G-d forbid. But now that he sees the righteousnesses of Hashem, his heart is straightened in the completeness of faith. Then he strengthens himself and prays for his needs, for the main part of prayer is through faith—that he believes that everything is under the authority of the Holy One, blessed be He, even to change nature. And the Holy One, blessed be He, does not deprive the reward of any creature, for Hashem is righteous [Psalms 119:137]: I thank You with uprightness of heart [Psalms 119:7]—through the uprightness of heart, which is the aspect of faith, the aspect of prayer is created. And this is the aspect of the red heifer (parah adumah), as stated in the Zohar [Chukat 180a]: The heifer that receives from the ox. The heifer—this is the aspect of prayer, in the aspect of: And we will render the bulls of our lips [Hosea 14:3]—that receives from the ox, the aspect of gazing, in the language of: I gaze upon him but not near [Numbers 24:17]. For through the aspect of "I will lift my eyes to the mountains," as above, the aspect of prayer is created. And this is: A red heifer, perfect [Numbers 19:2]—red, this is the decree of judgment; perfect, this is the innocent ox, soft judgment [as written in the Zohar there]—that is, he sees that the Holy One, blessed be He, weakens the power of judgment, in the aspect of "and My Hand shall grasp the judgment." Upon which no yoke has come—this is the completers of the faith of Israel [also this in the Zohar aforementioned]—this is the aspect of the strengthening of faith, the aspect of prayer that is created through the strengthening of vision, as above, in the aspect of "and Your righteousness to the upright of heart," as above.

5. And this is the aspect of dust and ash mentioned in the red heifer. For the aspect of prayer requires the aspect of dust and ash, for one must subdue the evil—both in particular and in general—under the good, in the aspect of: And you shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ash under the soles of your feet [Malachi 3:21; see Zohar Pekudei 237a]. And this is the aspect of ash that exists in the aspect of prayer. And "foot"—this is the aspect of prayer, in the aspect of: My foot has stood, etc. [Psalms 26:12]. The evil in particular—that is, his gross and material body—he nullifies at the time of prayer, like the early pious ones who, at the time of prayer, experienced a divestment of materiality [see Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 98]. And the evil in general—that is, the prayers of the transgressors of Israel with whom he prays—he nullifies their evil and makes from the evil a throne for holiness. And the dust in prayer—this is that he binds himself, in general and in particular, with the souls (nefashot), spirits (ruchot), and higher souls (neshamot) of the dwellers of dust, and awakens them in his prayer so that they pray with him, in the aspect of: Awake and sing, dwellers of dust [Isaiah 26:19]. And this is: He puts his mouth in the dust [Lamentations 3:29]—meaning that he binds his speech with the dwellers of dust, as above. And this is what Abraham said in his prayer: Behold, please, I have ventured to speak to Hashem, and I am dust and ash [Genesis 18:27]—for this is necessary for the aspect of prayer. And this is called prayer in public (tefillah b'tzibur), for the letters of tzibur are the initials of tzadikim (righteous), beinonim (intermediates), reshaim (wicked). The beinoni—he is the one praying, as stated by our sages, of blessed memory [Kiddushin 40a]: A person should always see himself as if half meritorious, etc. Tzadikim—this is the aspect of dust; reshaim—this is the aspect of ash, as above. And to awaken the dwellers of dust—this exists in particular and in general. In particular—that is, the parts of his own nefesh, ruach, and neshama that have already come in reincarnation and been rectified. And the nefesh, ruach, and neshama of other dwellers of dust—to awaken them so that they pray with him. And this is the aspect of seven by seven mentioned in the red heifer, for all its matters are seven [in Zohar Acharei 76a and in Midrash Rabbah parashah 19]: seven washings, seven priests, etc. This is the aspect of prayer, in the aspect of: Seven times a day I have praised You [Psalms 119:164].

6. One also needs to rectify in his prayer the aspect of three voices: The voice of a fool in a multitude of words [Ecclesiastes 5:2]. And the aspect of: A voice of response I hear [Exodus 32:18]. And the aspect of voice, in the aspect of: All day my disgrace is before me, etc., from the voice of the reproacher and blasphemer [Psalms 44:16-17]. And this is the aspect of the cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet thread mentioned in the red heifer. Cedar—this is the aspect of the voice of a fool in a multitude of words, in the multitude of conducts and false beliefs that are the aspect of the ways of the Emori (Amorites), for The simpleton believes every word [Proverbs 14:15]. And this is the aspect of cedar, in the aspect of: And I destroyed the Emori, whose height was like the height of cedars [Amos 2:9]. The tall in stature—according to their multitude, they are fools, for because of the height of their stature, the vapors that rise from the heart to the brain to be cooked in the brain and formed into thoughts—these vapors weaken due to the great distance from the heart to the brain because of their tall stature, and they lack the ability to form intellectual thoughts from them. Because of this, the tall in stature are fools. And this is the aspect of the ways of the Emori, which have no intellect because of "for his height is like the height of cedars." For this reason, they believe in many false beliefs. And the short in stature—their vapors are well-cooked and formed into intellectual thoughts, but because their intellect exceeds their good deeds, in the aspect of [Avot chapter 3]: Anyone whose wisdom exceeds his deeds—by this, when the intellectual thoughts return to their heart, their heart lacks the power to contain the intellect, for the main strengthening of the heart is through good deeds: To acquire wisdom, but no heart [Proverbs 17:16]. And through this, their intellect causes them to sin, and these are the philosophers who lack a good and pure heart [see Avot chapter 2; Psalms 51:12], and they are not in the aspect of: In my heart I have hidden Your word, so that I will not sin against You [Psalms 119:11]. Because of this, their intellect causes even more sin. And they are in the aspect of: Hyssop that comes out from the wall [1 Kings 5:13]. Hyssop—this is the aspect of the short in stature; they are possessors of intellect, but the heart cannot conceal the power of the intellect within it, for their heart is weak and lacking—especially the adulterers who engage in the wisdom of philosophy, which greatly damages them, for their heart is lacking, in the aspect of: He who commits adultery with a woman lacks heart [Proverbs 6:32]. And this is "hyssop that comes out from the wall"—that is, from the walls of the heart, where the intellect emerges through the walls of the heart, and the heart cannot contain the intellect within it, in the aspect of "in my heart I have hidden," etc. And this is the aspect of: "A voice of response I hear"—a voice of reproofs and blasphemies [as brought in Rashi there], for they blaspheme upward with their wisdom, as known [Ecclesiastes 7:16]: And do not be overly wise. And scarlet thread—this is the aspect of the third voice that a person experiences in disgraces and reproofs from haters, in the aspect of: All day my disgrace is before me, and the shame of my face has covered me, from the voice of the reproacher and blasphemer [Psalms 44:16-17]: And I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of man and despised by the people [Psalms 22:7]. And this is slaughter, burning, gathering mentioned in the red heifer, which are these three aspects. Slaughter—this is the aspect of nullifying the faith of fools, in the aspect of: And the slaughter of the deviants has deepened [Hosea 5:2]. Burning—this is the aspect of strengthening the heart, so that it can contain the words of wisdom within it, in the aspect of: My heart grew hot within me [Psalms 39:4]—for when the words of intellect are restrained in the heart, the heart becomes heated, for the intellect is like a confined fire [see Jeremiah 20:9]. And this is burning. Gathering—this is the aspect of nullifying the disgraces of haters, in the aspect of: G-d has gathered my reproach [Genesis 30:23]—this is the aspect of nullifying the third voice, as above.

7. And all this, the one praying needs to rectify in his prayer: to elevate those who have fallen into false beliefs, to raise them in his prayer to true faith, which is prayer; and to establish in their hearts complete faith; and to rectify the hearts of the investigators, the wise men of philosophy, so that their hearts can contain their intellect and not cause them to sin, in the aspect of: "In my heart I have hidden," etc. And this is accomplished through the intention of the heart in prayer, which rectifies their hearts. And to transform all disgraces and reproofs—to turn them into honor. For when a person stands in the palace of the King and nullifies himself completely, seeing nothing but the King, certainly when he hears some reproach or disgrace, he interprets the reproach and disgrace as an explanation of honor to the King. For how is it possible for someone to enter the palace of the King and disgrace the King? Rather, certainly these words are words of honor. He contemplates the words—how to interpret and combine them so that honor to the King is formed from them. And he does not think that perhaps these reproofs are said about him—this is not so, for who is he? Behold, his existence is nullified, and there is nothing here but the King Himself. And this is: And in His palace, all says glory [Psalms 29:9]—all the sayings must be combined to form glory from them. And at the time of prayer, the person stands in the palace of the King: Adonai, open my lips [Psalms 51:17]—Adonai, this is the palace [Tikkun 18, 31a]. Therefore, one must make from all disgraces combinations of honor to the King.

8. And through prayer as its rectification, the light of the merit of the forefathers sparkles, in the aspect of the merit of the forefathers having weakened [see Zohar Shelach, aforementioned in letter 2]. And this is accomplished through prayers as their rectification, for the merit of the forefathers weakened through: And Moshe beseeched, etc. [Exodus 32:11]—through the aspect of prayer. And in the place where the forefathers are, there the Shechinah is—in the aspect of challah (portion separated from dough), which is "also this" (gam zot). Also the aspect of challah, which is the measure of 43 eggs. And this is the aspect of the inheritance of the Land of Israel, for this mitzvah they were commanded to perform immediately, as it is written: And it shall be when you eat of the bread of the land, you shall raise up an offering from the first of your doughs; challah you shall raise up as an offering [Numbers 15:19-20; see Sifri, brought in Rashi there]. For in the place where the forefathers are, there the Shechinah is—that is the aspect of challah—she is the Land of Israel. And through the aspect of the Land of Israel, not only is one saved from the evil eye of the wicked, but he also sees in them what they wanted to see in him [see Psalms 73]—that they attained more than what they desired. And now, through "and he beseeched," through the weakening of the merit of the forefathers, through the challah offering, through the Land of Israel, their heart becomes: A drawn-out hope is a sickness of the heart [Proverbs 13:12]. And this is: Hope in Hashem and keep His way [Psalms 37:34]—this is the aspect of the rectification of prayer, the aspect of treading the bow, the aspect of prayer. And they are the three colors of the bow, which are the light of the forefathers that sparkles, as above. Through this: And He will exalt you to inherit the land—this is the aspect of the Land of Israel. And through this: When the wicked are cut off, you shall see—the aspect of "sit at My right hand," etc., as above. And this is: Dwell in the land and pasture faith [Psalms 37:3]—through faith, which is prayer, through this one comes to the aspect of the Land of Israel.

9. And know that not every person can rectify the aforementioned voices in his prayer, for sometimes the aforementioned voices in his prayer emerge from such great wicked ones that anyone who stands against them endangers his soul. And this requires a great prayer, like the prayer of Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him. Even Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, feared Og, king of Bashan, for Og's grasp was adjacent to the right hand, which is the Land of Israel—until the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe: Do not fear him [Numbers 21:34]. For he said: Behold, My right hand has been removed—as brought in the Zohar [Chukat 184a]. And Og's grasp was on the right, as he was from the sons of Abraham's household, and his land was adjacent to the Land of Israel. For this reason, Moshe feared provoking him—all the more so for other people, who must greatly examine themselves and understand the root of the wicked, how his grasp is, whether he can provoke him and destroy him. And this is what Abba Shaul said: I was a burier of the dead—that his striving was always to see the cutting off of the wicked, who in their lives are called dead [Berachot 18b]. Once, I ran after a deer—for the main downfall of the wicked is through the inheritance of the Land of Israel, through drawing down the holiness of the Land of Israel, in the aspect of "sit at My right hand," etc., as above. And the Land of Israel "is a deer to all lands" [Ezekiel 20:6]. And I entered the hollow of a dead person—that is, he wanted to rectify the aforementioned voices. And I ran after it three parsangs—that is, the aspect of prayer, which consists of three prayers. Through them, the light of the three forefathers sparkles, which are in the aspect of the feet of the throne—in order to draw down the light of the Land of Israel, which is the aspect of the deer aforementioned. And the deer I did not reach, and the hollow did not end—that he did not attain the aspect of the Land of Israel, the nullification of the aforementioned voices. And when I returned to my back—that is, after the completion of my prayer, when a person steps back three steps—they said to me: It is that of Og, king of Bashan. And no person can rectify such voices, for his grasp is on the right, and even Moshe Rabbeinu feared before him until the Holy One, blessed be He, assured him: Do not fear him—as brought in the Zohar [there]. And for this reason, the aspect of a wicked one like Og is called a refugee: And the refugee came [Genesis 14:13]—this is Og [Bereishit Rabbah Lech Lecha parashah 42; see Nidah 61a and Tosafot there; see Midrash Rabbah Devarim parashah 1]—who wanted Abraham to be killed and to take Sarah. And he is in the aspect of: "The wicked watches the tzadik—Abraham, etc.—Hashem will not abandon him into his hand," in the aspect of: "And My Hand shall grasp the judgment." And the Holy One, blessed be He, suppressed his judgment from him for a long time until the time of Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him. For this reason, he is called a refugee, in the aspect of: And I escape forever from my judgment [Job 23:7]—that he escaped from judgment for a great time. And through this, the tzadikim—who are doers of good—merit before Hashem, for before the cutting off of the wicked, the face of Hashem was covered and hidden in the doers of evil in order to cut them off, in the aspect of: The face of Hashem is against those who do evil, to cut off [Psalms 34:17]. And now, immediately when they see the cutting off of the wicked, immediately the face of Hashem is revealed to the doers of good. And this is: Seek His face always [Psalms 105:4]—for through "always" (tamid), which is the aspect of the Land of Israel [see Rashbam on Shochtim there], as it is written: Always the eyes of Hashem your G-d are upon it [Deuteronomy 11:12]—through the Land of Israel, you will merit to find the face of Hashem, for through the Land of Israel, you will merit to see the cutting off of the wicked, as above. And this is the aspect of the generality of the angel Sandalphon within the angel Metatron, Prince of the Face—the generality of Asiyah (World of Action) within Yetzirah (World of Formation)—through doubling the verse Let every soul [as brought in the Kavvanot]. In every breath and breath, one must praise Hashem [Bereishit Rabbah parashah 14]. And through the evil eye, the breath is doubled—as seen sensibly when a person has an evil eye, then he yawns and opens his mouth to receive a double breath. And when the breath is doubled, the praise also needs to be doubled, as above—and in particular, one must praise and thank Hashem for saving him from this evil eye, and he sees the cutting off of the wicked. And this is the aspect of Metatron, Prince of the Face, illuminating to Asiyah—that is, the doers of good merit the face of Hashem, as above, through the cutting off of the evil eye that caused the doubling of the breath [up to here, in the language of our rabbi, of blessed memory].