Likutay Moharan - Volume 2 - Torah-teaching 9

9 - To Wherever the Spirit Would Go, They Went

To wherever the spirit would go, they went [Ezekiel 1:12]

It is stated in the Tikunei Zohar (Tikun 13, 27a): All the arteries of the heart are guided by this spirit. This is what is written: "To wherever the spirit would go," etc. That is, the spirit that emerges from the wings of the lungs, for without the lungs’ wings blowing upon the heart, it would burn the entire body (there in Tikunei Zohar). For through the spirit, the lamp is extinguished or kindled, as seen in sensory experience: sometimes the lamp is extinguished by the blowing wind, and sometimes the extinguished lamp is kindled by the wind blown into it. For the lamp’s extinguishing occurs when impurities [ashiness] fall upon it, separating the fire’s parts, containing its essence, which cannot burn. Thus, when one blows into it, the spirit removes these impurities [ashiness], allowing the fire’s parts to return and connect and bind together, and begin to kindle [and sometimes, the wind extinguishes the lamp by separating the fire].

The leaders of the generation embody the spirit, as written: "a man in whom there is spirit" [Numbers 27:18], who knows how to guide the spirit of each one (Midrash Rabbah, Parashat Pinchas; Rashi). Israel is the heart of the world (Zohar, Pinchas 221a). Leaders must blow their spirit upon each Israelite, removing the sadness [black bile] that obstructs their ability to return and burn for Hashem, blessed be He. Similarly, the wicked, as the mixed multitude [erev rav, impure elements], burden the heart (Israel) with impurities [ashiness], hindering its divine connection. Thus, leaders must clear these impurities [ashiness] from each Israelite’s heart, enabling the fire within to return and connect and bind together, uniting Israel as the heart that returns and burns for Hashem.

However, a stormy wind can excessively kindle the fire beyond measure, causing destruction, as in: "lest they break through to go up to Hashem" [Exodus 19:21]. In what is hidden from you, do not inquire [Chagigah 13a]. Thus, if one burns excessively, it indicates a stormy wind. Elijah subdued this, riding "horses of fire in a storm" [2 Kings 2:11; see Zohar, Pinchas 227b, Zohar Chadash on Ruth], controlling the excessive fire caused by the storm. The spirit must blow in moderation [spiritual balance] to kindle the heart’s fire appropriately.