English translation — מאמר וישב יעקב תשכ"ז

With the help of Heaven.

Shabbos Parshas Vayeishev,

20 Kislev,

5727.

"And Yaakov settled in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan,"

and our master, the Alter Rebbe, the master of redemption and joy, explains in his book Torah Ohr,

to understand the double language of "in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan,"

that Canaan means a merchant,

as it is written,

"Canaanites, the honored of the land,"

and it is written,

"Canaan, in his hand are deceitful scales,"

and like a merchant who scatters money in order to profit and earn,

and his entire intention is to scatter and add more

[for the purpose of commerce is profit,

and as our sages, of blessed memory, said,

"Buy and sell, a merchant is called a trader"],

so too is the matter of the soul's descent below, that the purpose of the descent is for the sake of the ascent,

for specifically through its descent below and its enclothing in a body and the animal soul, it comes to a higher level than it was before its descent.

And to understand this with more explanation and at greater length,

also to understand what Rashi said on the verse "And Yaakov settled,"

"After it wrote for you the settlements of Esav and his generations in a brief manner,

because they were not important and significant to elaborate, etc., it explained for you the settlements of Yaakov and his generations in a lengthy manner, etc."

For seemingly, since the settlements of Esav and his generations are not important and significant, there was no need to write them at all,

even not in a brief manner.

And it must be said,

that although the settlements of Esav,

in and of themselves,

are not important and significant,

nevertheless,

since through them one comes to the settlements of Yaakov,

Scripture wrote them.

However, because their entire significance is that through them one comes to the settlements of Yaakov,

it wrote them in a brief manner.

But not so the settlements of Yaakov and his generations,

which are important and significant in and of themselves,

it explained them in a lengthy manner.

And it is necessary to understand what is the matter of "through the settlements of Esav one comes to the settlements of Yaakov,"

and also it is necessary to understand the precise language of "a brief manner" and "a lengthy manner."

2)

And this will be understood by prefacing what is said,

"He redeemed my soul in peace from battle, for many were with me,"

and the precise point of the phrase "He redeemed in peace" is known,

for from this language it implies that it is possible for there to be a redemption that is not in a manner of peace,

therefore it says here "He redeemed in peace" specifically,

that this redemption is in peace.

And also it needs to be understood what is said, "from battle,"

for it says "from battle" and not the term "war,"

as is the usual language in many places.

For the Holy Tongue is not a conventional language,

rather it is the language with which the world was created,

meaning that the name of each thing indicates its content and inner essence of the thing,

which was the wisdom of Adam the first,

and moreover,

that the name indicates the G-dly vitality of the thing called by this name,

as stated by our master, the Alter Rebbe, the Baal HaGeulah VeHaSimchah, in Shaar HaYichud VeHaEmunah.

From this it is understood regarding the matter of synonymous terms in the Holy Tongue,

that although all the names indicate,

in general,

that same thing,

nevertheless, each and every name

indicates and brings out a different content.

For so it is also regarding the terms "battle" and "war,"

that although "battle" also means war,

nevertheless, it must necessarily be said

that the word "battle" indicates a particular manner of war,

that specifically such a war is called by the name "battle."

And it needs to be understood what is said here, "from battle" specifically.

And moreover it is not understood according to what is said in the Yerushalmi,

that "He redeemed my soul in peace from battle" refers to the wars of Avshalom,

and behold, this war is called in the Tanach by the name "war,"

so why does it call it here specifically by the name "battle"?

And regarding what is said, "from battle,"

there are two explanations.

The first explanation is,

that when Dovid was in a state of battle,

then, at that time,

"He redeemed my soul in peace."

And the second explanation is,

that He redeemed and took him out of the battle,

this is what is said "from battle" with the letter mem,

(and like "from Egypt You redeemed us,"

whose explanation is,

the redemption and the departure from Egypt).

And it needs to be understood what is the concept of these two explanations.

And at the conclusion of the matter it says,

"for many were with me."

For "ki" is a giving of a reason,

that what "He redeemed in peace etc." is because many were with me,

as it says in the Yerushalmi,

that even the men of Avshalom prayed for Dovid,

through this "He redeemed my soul in peace."

And additionally there is to explain,

that "ki" is a term meaning "that which,"

and meaning that "many were with me" is the explanation of "He redeemed my soul in peace etc.,"

that the matter of the redemption in peace is this, that many were with me,

and from the conclusion

[from these two explanations]

it is understood in the explanation of "for many were with me,"

that through that many were with me,

behold, through this the redemption was effected in peace etc. and that many were with me.

3)

And to understand all this,

we must preface what is said,

"And these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before a king reigned over the children of Israel,"

and it is brought

in Midrash Rabbah,

"The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Yaakov: You humbled yourself and called Esav 'my lord' eight times,

by your life, I will establish from his descendants eight kings before your children,

as it is said, 'And these are the kings etc. before a king reigned over the children of Israel etc.'"

And it needs to be understood,

for it is known and famous in Kabbalah and Chassidus that the kings of Tohu are seven kings,

and in the Midrash it counts eight kings.

And also it needs to be understood that in the verse it counts eight kings.

And the explanation of this is known,

that the eighth king,

Hadar,

is not said of him "and he died,"

that there was no aspect of breaking in him,

and on the contrary,

from him is the beginning of the root of the rectification.

But it needs to be understood,

for in Divrei HaYamim

it says "and he died" also regarding Hadar.

And the explanation of this is known,

as it is brought in Zohar HaRakia,

that in the Writings, which are the aspect of Malchus,

and particularly Divrei HaYamim which is connected with time,

the Sefirah of Malchus,

it speaks about the aspect of the kings of Nukva,

meaning as the Sefiros are in Malchus,

where there was the aspect of breaking also in the eighth king,

but not so in the Torah, which is the aspect of Zeir Anpin,

it speaks about the kings of Duchra,

that in this aspect there was no aspect of breaking in the eighth king,

the aspect of Yesod,

and on the contrary,

from him is the beginning of the root of the rectification.

And behold,

the first king

(in whom is the beginning of the breaking)

is Bela the son of Beor,

who is the aspect of Daas,

(and this is not a contradiction to what is explained elsewhere,

that the beginning is from Chessed,

as stated in Otzros Chaim).

And at first glance it needs to be understood,

for it is explained that the entire matter of the breaking was in the emotions.

But nevertheless, it must be said that the breaking is from the aspect of Daas,

and as is simply understood from this that the matter of the breaking below is the concept of the sin of Adam HaRishon who ate from the Tree of Knowledge,

the matter of Daas specifically.

4)

And the explanation of the matter is,

that behold,

the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, its concept is that there was the sensation of physicality,

and as it is said,

"And the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes,"

meaning,

that before the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, the palate of Adam HaRishon felt a spiritual taste,

and the sin was that he felt a physical taste.

And the matter is,

that it is known that before the sin, Adam HaRishon was comprised of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah,

his head in Beriah, his body in Yetzirah, and his feet in Asiyah,

and it is understood,

that even his feet were on a more elevated level,

for the feet are connected with the rest of the body,

which is one body.

And furthermore,

that at the beginning of creation, the world was created in its fullness.

Therefore, even on the level of the feet of Adam HaRishon, his physical palate felt a spiritual taste.

And this is what our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said,

that the heel of Adam HaRishon dimmed the orb of the sun,

for "heel" is the lowest level of the foot,

and nevertheless it would dim the orb of the sun,

which is the aspect of the constellations,

meaning,

that the heel of Adam HaRishon was above the constellations.

And the matter of the constellations is as our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said,

"There is not a single blade of grass below that does not have a constellation above that strikes it and says to it, 'Grow!'"

and as the Alter Rebbe precisely notes,

the language "says to it, 'Grow!'"

that the intention is not that the very coming into being is done by the constellation,

rather, after the existence has come into being,

then through the constellation its growth is effected,

in taste and sweetness and in the other matters.

And it is understood that since the constellation is spiritual,

behold, physical sweetness does not apply to it.

And similarly it will be understood regarding Adam HaRishon, that his heel dimmed the orb of the sun,

that he was above the constellations,

that his palate tasted a spiritual taste.

And the sin was that he tasted a physical taste,

and the explanation of this is,

that his will was to taste a physical taste,

and therefore he felt the physical taste.

And the intention is not that through this the physical taste was created,

for even as the world was created in its fullness, the taste was physical,

rather, before the sin Adam HaRishon tasted the spiritual taste,

whereas the physical taste was absorbed and included within the spiritual,

that it had no independent existence.

And the matter of the sin was that he wanted to feel the physical as it is in its own right.

And this is that before the sin his body was in Yetzirah,

where he tasted the sweetness of the Torah,

and on the level of his feet in Asiyah,

the sensation of sweetness was only spiritual sweetness,

and the physical was drawn after the spiritual.

And the sin was that he wanted to feel the physical.

And this is also the explanation of what is said,

"And they knew that they were naked,"

that the intention is not that at first they did not know,

for if so, what is the novelty that they were not ashamed,

rather, what is said "and they knew" is the concept of recognition and sensation,

meaning,

that at first there was no sensation and desire in this matter,

and as it says in Reishis Chochmah,

that before the sin, the sensation was that just as through the hand one fulfills the mitzvah of tefillin

(for the entire Torah is equated to tefillin),

so too through this organ one fulfills the mitzvah of "be fruitful and multiply,"

which is a lofty and exalted mitzvah,

and as it is said,

"He did not create it for chaos, He formed it to be inhabited,"

and the sin caused that there came to be for them sensation and desire in this matter.

And therefore the matter of "garments" was needed,

and from this it devolved into actual halachah that garments are needed.

And similarly it is regarding the matter of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge,

that its cause is Daas and sensation,

meaning that the sin was that there came to be for him the sensation of the physical thing as it is in its own right,

and not as it is drawn after the spiritual.

And from this it is also understood above,

that the cause of the breaking in the emotions is the matter of sensation,

the aspect of Daas.

5)

Now, the sin of the Tree of Knowledge caused a descent in the entire order of the chain of progression,

just as in the first man the sin caused a descent not only in his feet in Asiyah,

so that he felt a physical taste,

but also in his body in Yetzirah,

for the World of Yetzirah is the matter of the emotions,

as Zeir Anpin nests in Yetzirah,

and this means,

that the sin caused a descent also in the emotions of Yetzirah,

so that the emotions as they are after the sin are not similar to the emotions as they were before the sin.

And just as the descent in his feet in Asiyah was through intellect and feeling,

so too the descent in the emotions came through feeling.

And the explanation of the matter is,

that the beginning of the emotions is the matter of Chesed,

and in Chesed there are concealed chassadim and revealed chassadim.

Revealed chassadim are the matter of Chesed as it comes in revelation,

and concealed chassadim are as Chesed is in concealment from the aspect of intellect.

And the intention in concealed chassadim is not for the emotions that are included in the intellect,

for,

when they are included in the intellect they are not emotions of the heart but emotions of the intellect,

and then it is not applicable to distinguish between concealed chassadim and revealed chassadim,

and thus,

the intention in concealed chassadim is for the emotions as they are in their place in the heart,

except that they are nullified from the aspect of the intellect that shines in the heart.

And the matter in this is,

that,

although the emotions come from the intellect,

and as it is stated in Tanya

that Chabad is called the mothers and source for the emotions,

for through contemplating how great are Your works, Hashem,

and how great are Your deeds, Hashem,

the emotions are revealed,

love of Hashem and His awe and fear and to glorify Him, etc.,

and as the Rambam states,

"And how is the way to His love and awe? At the time that one contemplates, etc.,"

that through contemplation appropriate to love, the attribute of love is born,

and through contemplation appropriate to awe, the attribute of awe is born,

nevertheless,

at the time that the intensity of the intellect shines,

it is impossible for there to be an existence of emotions in revelation,

and only at the time that the mochin depart,

when nothing shines,

or the intellect shines in a manner of makif at least,

then there can be an existence of the emotion in revelation.

However,

there is a level in the emotions that even when the intellect is revealed,

and it causes nullification in the emotions,

nevertheless the emotions exist in their reality in the heart.

And this matter is when one contemplates the depth and inwardness of the intellect and understands the intellect not through the vessels of comprehension and grasp,

which are the vessels of the brain,

then the light of the intellect can shine also in the heart.

And this means,

that when the contemplation is only through the vessels of the brain,

then it shines only in the brain and not in the heart,

but when the contemplation is in the inwardness and depth of the intellect above the vessels of the brain,

then there are no limitations of the brain there,

and it can shine also in the heart

(and on the contrary,

their primary existence is in the heart),

and at the time that the intellect shines in the heart, this causes nullification in the emotions,

and this means that the primary thing is the intellect,

and on the contrary,

the inwardness of the intellect,

and nevertheless there is an existence of emotion in the heart,

except that the emotion is not felt,

because it is nullified to the intellect that shines in the heart,

and this is the matter of the inwardness of the emotions.

And now,

from the aspect of the inwardness of the emotions in which the inwardness of the mochin shine,

there cannot be suckling for the external forces,

because the emotions are not noticeable and felt,

but from the aspect of the externality of the mochin from which the externality of the emotions are made,

there can be suckling for the external forces.

And this is the matter of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge,

that the matter of feeling in the emotions was made, so that they are noticeable and felt,

and this is the matter of revealed chassadim.

And the matter in this in the service of Hashem,

that,

there is the matter of "the nearness of G-d is good,"

and there is the matter of "the nearness of G-d is good for me."

"The nearness of G-d is good" means that G-dliness is good in itself,

and from this there is no suckling for the other side.

And this is the matter of the Tree of Life,

about which it is said,

"and eat and live forever,"

that there is no suckling from it for the other side.

But "the nearness of G-d is good for me" is in a manner that it becomes felt,

that he mixes his own existence into it,

to the point that it can be that the primary thing is what he feels of himself,

and G-dliness is only in a secondary way,

and therefore if he does not feel himself,

meaning he does not feel how G-dliness is good for me,

then the love can be nullified,

and this is the matter of revealed chassadim,

which is in the aspect of feeling itself.

And from this there can be suckling for the other side,

and this means,

that although even the feeling of "the nearness of G-d is good for me" is a matter of holiness,

nevertheless,

there can be from it suckling for the other side,

as is known that from the Chesed of Avraham can come the love of the Philistines

(as explained in the matter of the klipah of the Philistines).

And even though also in the aspect of the externality of the mochin

(from which the externality of the emotions are drawn,

revealed chassadim)

there can be protection from the suckling of the other side,

by means of the intellect shining in the manner of makif,

nevertheless,

there is a need for caution and counsel, etc.

(a safeguarding),

but in the inwardness of the mochin,

there is no need for any caution at all regarding this.

6)

Now, it is known that the sin of the Tree of Knowledge brought about the matter of the mixture of good and evil,

as explained in the sicha of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, from Yud-Tes Kislev,

that in every single thing there is a mixture of good and evil, and there is no good without evil,

and there is no evil without good,

as is known,

that after the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, every thing in the world is in a manner of mixture of good and evil.

And this matter is from the aspect of Daat,

for, behold,

one who has no Daat at all, or who has only smallness of Daat,

goes along in his simple way,

meaning,

that everything he does is in utmost simplicity without any admixture of the opposite thing,

for when he does a good thing, no evil is mixed into it,

and when he does an evil thing, no good is mixed into it,

because he has no Daat or cunning,

but unlike him, one who has Daat and cunning,

who can conceal himself

(he can hide himself),

then it is possible that in doing the thing he will have some intention or ulterior motive and the like,

so that then, even when externally he does a good thing,

nevertheless,

it can be that internally it is an evil thing,

and likewise the opposite, that externally it is evil and internally it is good.

And along the lines of what is said,

"He who spares his rod hates his son,"

that even though outwardly it is a matter of Gevurah, that he chastises his son,

nevertheless, from the perspective of the intention in this, it is a matter of Chessed,

for he does this out of his love for his son,

and this means,

that even though from the perspective of his love for his son he wants only to benefit him with revealed good,

nevertheless,

through Daat, there is a strengthening of the intellect to incline the attribute,

because he delves and understands that even though he loves his son,

nevertheless,

for his benefit he needs to chastise him,

and through this an inclination toward Gevurah is generated in him,

and from the inclination to the attribute of Gevurah,

afterward he comes to openly chastise his son.

And this is the matter of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge,

that the matter of Daat brings about a mixture of good and evil.

But one must understand,

for the kelipot have no brain of Daat,

as it is stated in the Zohar,

"The Other God is a eunuch and does not produce fruit, etc."

And the explanation of this is,

that this lack of Daat refers to the innerness of Daat,

which brings about nullification in the emotions,

from which there is no sustenance for the Other Side,

but they possess the externality of Daat,

from which there can be sustenance for the Other Side,

and through this a mixture of good and evil is brought about.

And the matter is,

behold,

the matter of mixture applies only when there are details,

and as the Mitteler Rebbe said,

that regarding the four elements as they are in themselves, the matter of inter-inclusion does not apply to them,

and only from the aspect that the element of fire also contains the element of water, and the element of water also contains the element of fire, etc.,

therefore the matter of inter-inclusion applies.

And so it is with the matter of Daat,

that because it is the matter of depth, through which the intellect comes in a multiplicity of details,

therefore it brings about the matter of inter-inclusion and mixture.

And this is not a contradiction to what is explained elsewhere,

that the multiplicity of details in the intellect come through Binah,

for,

from the perspective of Binah, the details exist only in a general way,

but unlike this, when one understands through the depth that is in the power of Daat,

then the matter comes in the most particular details, etc.

And this is the advantage of Daat over the intellects of Chochmah and Binah,

for, behold, in the intellect in general there is length, width, and depth,

length is the matter of the point of Chochmah,

meaning that the essential rationale as it is drawn down and descends from level to level,

only that it is in the aspect of enclothing, etc.

And width is the matter of Binah, which details the details in the intellect,

but this is still in a general way.

And afterward comes the matter of depth, which is the matter of Daat,

that from the aspect of depth, the true matter of details is brought about,

for one finds in the intellect all the most particular details within it,

and from this, inter-inclusion and mixture can occur.

7)

However, based on this, one must understand what the Targum says on the verse,

"the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil,"

"from which the wise eat, discerning between good and evil,"

meaning,

that through Daat one can discern, separate, and distinguish between good and evil.

And as it is brought in the Gemara,

that because of this they established Havdalah in "Chonen HaDaat" (the blessing for knowledge),

for if there is no Daat, from where is separation, etc.

And here it is explained the opposite,

that through Daat a mixture of good and evil is brought about.

But the matter is,

behold,

when evil is revealed and coarse,

then the work of discerning it, etc., is not so difficult,

and one does not specifically need the brain of Daat for this.

However,

since through the sin of the Tree of Knowledge a mixture of good and evil was brought about in the world,

and also the subtlety of evil was brought about,

behold, for this there is a need for work with exertion specifically

(and through this, "and you will find"),

to discern even the subtlety of evil and to extract the good from the evil.

And the matter in this,

behold, it is written,

"Cords of emptiness and like ropes of a cart, sin,"

meaning,

that if at first there were no cords of emptiness,

it would be impossible to come to sin, which is like the ropes of a cart,

for how is it possible that one would do such a thing,

and only through that at first there were cords of emptiness,

which is the matter of the subtlety of evil,

behold, from this one comes afterward to the ropes of a cart, sin,

the coarseness of evil.

But in order to discern the subtlety of evil and to refine it, one must exert oneself more,

and as is known,

Yaakov was in the house of Lavan for twenty years in order to refine even the subtlety of evil,

but unlike this, regarding Eisav, a great amount of time was not needed,

because in Eisav there was only the coarseness of evil.

And this matter is accomplished through the brain of Daat,

and this means,

from the aspect of the expanse of Daat,

that one enters into the depth of the thing and knows all its details

(from which very aspect inter-inclusion and mixture of good and evil come about, as above),

he has the power to discern even the subtlety of evil and to extract the good from the evil.

8)

And the main aspect of daas is that through it, a decision about a matter is reached.

That is,

the discernment between good and evil,

“the wise discern between good and bad,”

can also be from the side of Chochmah and Binah,

but nevertheless,

he will not have a decision about what to do,

for from the side of intellect there can be rationales for this and for that.

And as is known,

the proof from the generation of the Flood,

that from that same rationale that necessitated there be a flood,

“for the inclination of man’s heart is evil from his youth,”

afterward the conclusion was “I will not again continue to smite,” etc.,

“and there will no longer be a flood to destroy the earth.”

That is,

that from intellect itself one cannot come to a decision,

and only through daas, which enters into the depth of the matter,

can one then come to a decision about how to act.

And this is what is written,

“and you shall choose life,”

that is,

that even though it is already stated,

“See, I have placed before you… life and good and the opposite,”

nevertheless,

it is not satisfied with this,

and it says “and you shall choose life,”

and particularly according to what the Alter Rebbe said,

that the letters of “and you shall choose life” are a granting of power that the choice for life can be made,

from which it is understood that it is not sufficient that one knows that there is life and its opposite,

because from this very fact it could be that he will choose the opposite, G-d forbid,

therefore the command “and you shall choose life” is necessary,

and this is through the aspect of daas, as above.

But still, it needs to be understood,

how is it that through daas one can choose the good,

for since from the side of intellect,

even though “the wise discern between good and bad,”

nevertheless it could be that despite this he will choose the opposite,

and as it is written,

“they are wise to do evil,”

if so,

how will “and you shall choose life” come about through daas?

And the explanation of this is,

that daas connects Chochmah and Binah,

and thus daas itself is above Chochmah and Binah,

that is,

that daas receives from the aspect of Kesser,

as is known that in a place where daas is counted, Kesser is not counted,

that is,

that daas is in the place of Kesser,

and therefore from this aspect it is possible to have “and you shall choose life.”

9)

And the explanation of the matter is,

that it is known that “the ultimate knowledge is that we do not know,”

and the simple explanation of this is,

that first one must understand all that is possible, and afterward one comes to the ultimate knowledge,

that one understands that in truth one does not know, etc.

But the inner explanation of this is,

that the ultimate knowledge is that the knowledge should be in that which we do not know,

that is,

that even the aspect of “we do not know” should be in the category of knowledge.

And the explanation of this is,

that,

there is knowledge of affirmation and knowledge of negation.

Knowledge of affirmation is in Binah,

which comes in a manner of comprehension,

that one grasps the intellect through perception and enclothing in seven aspects, etc.

And knowledge of negation is in Chochmah,

that is, one understands the intellect by negating from it the matters that oppose and contradict it.

Nevertheless, it is understood,

that even the thing grasped through knowledge of negation has a connection to the matters from which it is negated,

for they are at least within its category,

and therefore it is possible to negate it from them.

But there is another aspect of knowledge that does not come even through negation,

because the matter is not within the category of knowledge at all, such that we could grasp it through negation,

and this is the aspect of “we do not know.”

And the explanation of this in the comprehension of G-dliness is,

that,

there is the aspect of Memaleh Kol Almin and the aspect of Sovev Kol Almin,

the aspect of Memaleh Kol Almin is subject to knowledge of affirmation,

but regarding the aspect of Sovev Kol Almin, only knowledge of negation applies,

but nevertheless, this is within the category of worlds,

for it is called Sovev Kol Almin.

But there is an aspect that is above Sovev Kol Almin,

even above the general Sovev,

and even above the true essence of the aspect of Sovev,

where even knowledge of negation does not apply.

And it is like what is written in Shaar HaYichud VeHaEmunah,

that this is like one who says about some lofty and deep wisdom that it is impossible to touch it with hands because of the depth of the concept,

anyone who hears would laugh at him,

because the matter of wisdom is not within the category of touch at all,

even not in a way of negation.

And about this it is said, “the ultimate knowledge is that we do not know,”

that even in the aspect of “we do not know” there must be the matter of knowledge,

and it is that the essence of the soul recognizes the essence of Ein Sof

(essence grasps essence).

And like the analogy,

a small infant who still has smallness of daas or has no daas at all,

and nevertheless is drawn to his father,

this is not because of some rationale that he understands how he is his father, etc.,

but it is only an innate recognition, because he was born from him.

And this matter is drawn down also into the revealed faculties,

and it is the aspect of Daas Eloki, which is above Chochmah and Binah,

and from the side of Daas Eloki there can be the decision to choose good,

even though from the side of intellect it can be in a manner of “they are wise to do evil.”

And since the command “and you shall choose life” is for every single Jew,

it is understood that the power for this is given to every single Jew,

even to simple people who have no understanding or comprehension,

that is,

that the Daas Eloki from the side of the essence is drawn down to the lowest levels to every single Jew,

even to simple people,

that they too have the granting of power that there should be “and you shall choose life.”

10)

And all this is from the side of the inwardness of daas,

but from the side of the externality of daas there can be a mixture of good and evil,

and this is that the beginning of the shattering was in the aspect of daas,

for all the cause of the intermingling of good and evil is from the side of daas,

as above.

However,

also the matter of separation between good and evil and the refinement, where one chooses the good and separates the evil, is through daas,

except that this is from the supernal aspect of daas,

which is the matter of the innate recognition in the Essence of the Ein Sof light,

and this aspect and level is only in holiness.

And this is the matter of the eighth king,

Hadar,

about whom it is not said “and he died,”

because there was no aspect of shattering in him,

and he is the root and source of rectification.

And the explanation is,

that the eighth king is Yesod,

and Yesod is the middle line that is drawn from daas,

and as the saying, “there is no hardness except from daas,”

and on a higher level,

it draws from the aspect of Kesser,

for Kesser is drawn down to the end of the line,

and therefore we see that in the influence of the drop, the essence is drawn more than in the influence of daas and intellect,

and as explained from the proof that a blind person gives birth to a complete child, etc.

And because of this, “and he died” is not said about Hadar,

because in Yesod there was no aspect of shattering,

and on the contrary, it is the root and source of rectification,

which is the matter of refinement.

And in more detail,

in the matter of refinement itself there are two modes,

refinement from above to below,

and refinement from below to above.

And,

when the refinement is in a way of revelation of light from above,

it can be that sparks of holiness that were extinguished will be pushed away and not be refined,

and furthermore,

since the refinement is not from the power of the lower one,

it can be that after the light departs, the lower one will remain in his level and not be refined.

Therefore, the refinement must be in a way of avodah from below to above.

And this is that Yitzchak wanted to bless Esav,

that is, he wanted to draw upon him a supernal light, through which he would be refined in a passive manner,

and he erred in this,

for he would have been completely nullified,

and his rectification needed to be through Yaakov,

for then it is in a way of refinement.

And even though regarding Yaakov it is written “and he gave,” etc.,

“he gave and again gave,”

the intention is not that the refinement is through a revelation of light from above,

but rather this was only in a way of granting power,

and afterward the refinement must be in a way of avodah from below to above.

And this matter is accomplished specifically through daas.

10)

A)

And this is the meaning of the verse, "He redeemed my soul in peace from close combat with me, for many were with me."

For behold,

there is a mode of redemption in peace that is not at all in the manner of war,

but rather in a manner of rest,

as we find with Shlomo, who was a man of rest,

and the sparks came to him in a spontaneous manner,

and like the Queen of Sheba who brought the sparks to him, etc.

Nevertheless,

when the Queen of Sheba returned to her place, she remained as before and was not refined.

This is not the case with Dovid,

for with him the refinement was in a manner of close combat,

in a manner of war.

And in more detail,

within war itself there are two levels.

There is a war that is from a distance,

where one does not see the enemy and does not know what is happening with him,

and then one cannot refine him.

But there is a war that is in a manner of close combat, which indicates closeness,

and this is what is written of Dovid, "from close combat with me."

And about this he said, "for many were with me,"

as it is stated in the Yerushalmi that even the men of Avshalom prayed for Dovid's victory,

and as it is written,

"Even his enemies will make peace with him,"

for in the word "yashlim" there are two interpretations,

from the language of peace,

and also from the language of completion.

And this matter is accomplished through the service in the aspect of close combat,

war in a manner of closeness,

through which one causes that "many were with me,"

for "many" is the matter of a public domain,

and as it is written,

"Let us make man" in the plural,

and as our sages of blessed memory said,

"It is written, and whoever wishes to err, etc.,"

and from "many" it becomes "with me,"

a private domain of the Singular One of the world.

And this is "He redeemed my soul in peace from close combat with me, etc.,"

which is the prayer of Dovid,

the aspect of Malchus,

the totality of the Congregation of Israel,

meaning,

that they give strength to each and every Jew that he can have redemption through close combat,

for through refinement in the aspect of close combat, the transformation of the lower is effected,

meaning,

that it is not in a manner that it is nullified from its existence,

but rather the very existence of the lower is transformed into Elokus,

and as it is written,

"With all your heart, with both your inclinations,"

which is not in a manner of killing them through fasting,

but rather that even the animal soul will have love for Elokus.

And the totality of the matter in this,

that refinement in the manner of close combat is not like the light of the sun that shines in a house by opening the windows,

for the light of the sun does not mix and unite with the matters of the house,

and therefore after the light of the sun departs, the house remains dark,

and one does not know what is happening there,

but rather refinement in the manner of close combat is like the soul clothing itself in the body, where it unites with the body,

for before its clothing in the body, the soul was above and perceived there the essence of Elokus,

and in its clothing in the body, its perception of Elokus is only in the aspect of the existence of Elokus,

and its perception of essence is in physical matters,

and this is because the soul unites with the body and the animal soul,

meaning,

that the G-dly soul feels the animal soul.

And likewise, conversely,

regarding the animal soul, it is stated,

"The spirit of the beast that descends downward,"

feels the G-dly soul,

and through this the G-dly soul acts upon the animal soul so that it will have perception of Elokus in a manner that the natural intellect perceives Elokus,

meaning,

not only in a manner that it receives something above it,

but in a manner that the natural intellect of the animal soul becomes like the intellect of the Torah.

And behold, these two modes of refinement exist in all three lines of Torah, service, and acts of kindness,

but in general, this is the difference between Torah and prayer,

that Torah is in the aspect of close combat,

through which the animal soul is transformed into Elokus,

unlike prayer,

about which it is said,

"With my sword and with my bow,"

which is translated as "with my prayer and with my supplication,"

which is a matter of simple war.

And since through Torah the completion of refinement is effected,

therefore regarding Torah it is not stated "and he died" in glory,

unlike in Chronicles, which is in the aspect of Malchus,

whose feet descend etc.,

to a place opposite to life,

therefore it is stated "and he died,"

because there the matter of refinement is not accomplished, etc.

And even though it is known that the refinements are in the aspect of Malchus,

about which it is stated,

"And she arose etc. and gave prey to her house,"

which is the matter of the descent of Malchus into Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah to refine sparks,

this can be explained in two ways,

the first,

that through Malchus only a first refinement is accomplished and not a second refinement,

and the second,

that even the refinements that Malchus refines are also through the drawing down into it from the aspect of Yesod, etc.

10)

B)

And this is the meaning of the verse, "And Yaakov settled in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan,"

for Canaan is an expression of a merchant,

who disperses his money in order to profit,

and this is the matter of the soul's ascent through its descent below and its clothing in the body and animal soul.

And behold, it is known

that the descent of the soul below is not for its own sake,

for the soul itself does not need rectification,

and its descent below is in order to refine the sparks of Tohu that fell below into physical things.

And through its refining of the sparks,

it ascends higher than it was before its descent.

And this is why the matter of the settlements of Esav and his generations is an introduction to "And Yaakov settled etc. in the land of Canaan,"

for the settlements of Esav are the matter of the seven kings of Tohu,

and the entire matter of commerce

(Canaan)

of the soul's descent below is due to the sparks of Tohu that fell into the broken vessels,

which is the cause of the soul's descent

(the dispersion of money),

and as mentioned above, the soul did not descend for its own sake but only to refine the sparks,

and this is also the cause of the ascent that is effected through the descent

(the profit through the dispersion),

and as mentioned above, the soul's ascent is through the refinement of the sparks of Tohu.

Now, that which they are called "the settlements of Eisav,"

even though the concept of settlement is specifically in Tikkun,

for even in Tohu there are aspects of the vessels,

and the aspect of the vessels is the concept of settlement,

except that the settlements of Eisav are in a contracted manner,

meaning,

that the concept of settlement that is in Tohu is in an aspect of contraction and diminution,

for in Tohu there were many lights and few vessels,

for the vessels were not at all proportionate to the lights,

because there was no proper mixture between the lights and the vessels.

(In addition to this, that even the vessels in and of themselves are few,

meaning,

that the concept of vessel within them is in a diminished state),

and this was the cause of the breaking of the vessels,

that the lights departed upward and the vessels broke and fell downward.

And this is what was innovated in the matter of Tikkun,

that a proper mixture was made between the lights and the vessels,

few lights and many vessels,

so that from this, in Tikkun, settlement is in abundance,

the settlements of Yaakov in an extended manner.

Now, even though the aspect of Tohu in and of itself is not according to the intent,

and as the statement,

"This judgment did not please Me,"

this is that the settlements of Eisav and his descendants were not treasured and important,

nevertheless,

they are a preface to the matter of "And Yaakov dwelt... in the land of Canaan,"

for the entire matter of the commerce of the soul's descent below is from the aspect of the breaking of the vessels of Tohu,

as mentioned above.

And this is that after it writes "the settlements of Eisav in a contracted manner," it is written "And Yaakov dwelt in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan,"

for the descent of the soul below is in order to refine the sparks of Tohu, as mentioned above,

and this is the concept of "And Yaakov dwelt in the land of his father's sojournings,"

that "sojournings" (megurei) is a term meaning a storehouse,

and like "one who gathers in summer,"

and it is the concept of gathering and refining the sparks of Tohu that were scattered through the breaking of the vessels.

For it is known

that the matter of the breaking of the vessels is that the vessels became separated from their connection,

and the parable for this is from the matter of letters,

that when they are connected in a single word,

then they bear within them the meaning of the word.

And like the letters bet, reish, vav, chaf,

that when they are connected together in the combination "baruch," they bear the intellect that is in the word "baruch,"

and when they are scattered from one another,

then only an impression of the intellect remains in each letter.

And so too is the matter of the breaking of the vessels of Tohu,

that the vessels became separated from their connection, etc.

And this is the concept of "his father's sojournings" (megurei aviv),

that the soul in its descent below gathers and refines the sparks of Tohu that were scattered, etc.

Now,

there is another explanation of "his father's sojournings" (megurei aviv),

that "sojournings" (megurei) is from the term meaning awe/fear,

and as the Maggid explained

(whose day of hilula is on the 19th of Kislev,

and also the matter of the redemption of our master, the Alter Rebbe, on the 19th of Kislev is connected to the matter of the hilula of the Maggid)

that "his father's sojournings" is the concept of awe of our Father in Heaven.

And it is necessary to explain the connection between the two explanations,

based on what was explained above

(section 8 and onward)

that the primary refinement within Tikkun is through the aspect of the Divine Daat,

which is the self-aware recognition that is above intellect,

which is the concept of "the ultimate knowledge is that we do not know."

And this is the concept of "his father's sojournings" from the term awe

(according to the second explanation),

the aspect of awe of shame,

which comes from the recognition of the sublimity of Ein Sof that is beyond comprehension,

the aspect of "the ultimate knowledge is that we do not know."

And from this recognition comes the choice of good

(as mentioned above),

through which is the primary gathering and refinement of the sparks

(the first explanation of "megurei").

And this is also that the land of Israel is called here by the name "land of Canaan,"

for the matter of Canaan is as it is written, "Canaan, in his hand are deceitful scales,"

that through deceit a mixture of good and evil is made,

and as mentioned above

(section 6)

that from the matter of cunning a mixture of good and evil is made,

and it is the aspect of the externality of Daat,

which is the cause of the breaking of the vessels of Tohu.

But the purpose of this descent is to make from the land of Canaan the land of Israel,

which is the ascent that is brought about through the descent,

and according to the second explanation that "Canaan" is a term for a merchant,

which is the concept of the profit that comes through dispersion.

And this is also the matter of the imprisonment and redemption of the 19th of Kislev,

that during the imprisonment there was the ultimate descent,

and as is known

that our master, the Alter Rebbe, then suffered bodily afflictions and afflictions of the soul, etc.

But the purpose of this descent is for the sake of ascent,

which is that at the time of the redemption, "all the ends of the earth saw," etc.,

and it is the concept of the revelation of Divinity through the signs and wonders performed by the tzaddikim,

and then the primary matter of "spread forth"

"your wellsprings outward" began,

and behold, through the spreading of the wellsprings of the inner dimension of the Torah, "he will come speedily,"

for then there will be the revelation of the inner dimension of Daat,

as it is written,

"For the earth will be filled with knowledge of Havayah," etc.,

speedily, literally.

10)

3)

And behold, the matter of the commerce,

of Canaan mentioned above,

is through "And Yaakov settled,"

the descent

and lowering of the soul below to refine the body and the Nefesh HaBahamis and its portion in the world,

the refinement, purification, and elevation of the sparks of holiness that fell in the broken vessels of Tohu,

and this is that the settlements of Yaakov came about through the settlements of Esav and his descendants before the King, the King of Israel, and the settlements of Esav are specifically in a short path,

in the manner of the saying of our sages of blessed memory

(in holiness)

"A person teaches his student a short path,"

the few vessels of Tohu,

and they were not stored away

(and hidden),

for in their root, Yaakov preceded,

and they were not significant,

for "judgment did not please Him,"

and the desired refinement is in a manner of closeness,

specifically closeness and feeling

(and as will be explained at length below),

for then "with many,

the souls of Esav" (the term "many" is plural),

"were with me,"

so that no spark of holiness will be rejected as above,

and until even his enemies make peace with him—this is the serpent,

the serpent that causes death in the world,

in the aspect of "Rav,"

there will be peace,

"and abundant peace to your children,"

"He redeemed in peace."