English translation — משיחות חמשה עשר בשבט* ה׳תשנ״ב

The special quality of the fifteenth of Shevat - that Tachanun is not recited¹,

and also not in the Mincha before it³ - that it,

the New Year for Trees,

as it states in the Mishnah•: "On the first of Shevat is the New Year for Trees, according to Beis Shammai,

Beis Hillel say on the fifteenth of it."

And the halacha is like Beis Hillel.

And therefore it is the custom of Israel to eat on this day various fruits,

and especially fruits with which the Land of Israel is praised,

in which the concept of 'Rosh Hashanah for trees' is emphasized halachically - 'for the poor of the tithe'⁷.

And one must explain the concept of this day in the service of the Jewish people - as in all matters of Torah from the word 'instruction'•,

learning and teaching in the service of man,

'I was created to serve my Creator' - first and foremost regarding this day itself,

and furthermore and mainly,

Being "Rosh HaShanah,"

one must draw it into and throughout the entire year

(until the "Rosh HaShanah for Trees" in the following year,

when a more elevated innovation will be added,

ascent upon ascent)

And in introduction:

A tree - connected with Bnei Yisrael,

as it is written•* "For man

(which refers primarily to Bnei Yisrael,

"you are called Adam",

on account of "earth to the Supreme"³)

the tree of the field",

and especially the trees

(that are in Eretz Yisrael,

And among them specifically the trees)

with which the Land of Israel was praised,

that their connection to the Land of Israel is a result of the fact that they exist first in Israel themselves.

And this is sweetened more - according to the known³ that Israel is called by the name "land",

as it is written⁴ "For you shall be a desirable land",

and as our Sages said: "Why is it called 'land'? Because it desired to do the will of its Owner,"

"Desired" from the word 'paved,'

and also from the word 'm'

See Radak on Tehillim 19,

Gaon R. P. on Bereishit.

Zohar 53,

And more.

Memosheh 10 Shevat

wants",

that this is beautiful - mainly in,

Eretz Cheifetz of Yisroel,

that Av and Imma from Yisroel,

wants to fulfill all the mitzvos"׳*,

and until that,

runs

(with the greatest alacrity to the mitzvah"׳*,

and through them it is drawn and done also in Eretz Yisroel",

And from this it is understood that all the details of matters in the Land of Israel exist first in Israel.

And accordingly, one must explain the content of the matter of the seven species with which the Land of Israel was praised:

A land of wheat and barley and vines and figs and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey״■² — as is known, the seven species correspond to the seven attributes²²,

the seven branches of "a menorah of pure gold"²³,

which alludes to the Congregation of Israel, which is divided into seven types,

seven manners in the service of G-d",

that all these details exist in each and every one of Israel²³,

the men, the women, and the children".

And even though,

Rosh Hashanah La'Ilan" applies only to five of them - the two species of

land" the second,

a land of olive oil and honey",

and only three of the types from

the first land״,

land

(wheat and barley and grape

and fig and pomegranate,

However, wheat and barley are not trees

(And their new year is not on the fifteenth of Shevat,

but on the first of Tishrei,

which is,

the beginning of the year for tithes of grain, legumes, and vegetables"³)

- Nevertheless,

Since the verse places²⁷ lettuce and barley before vine and fig and hill of olive oil and honey,

And,

"Whatever is earlier in this verse is earlier for blessing"²,

They should also be given precedence in the study and instruction of divine service.

Moreover, the study and instruction from the word,

"land" at the beginning of the verse,

which is the source from which all matters of growth come,

Behold, grain

(wheat and barley/ and they are fruits of the tree

(vine and fig and hint of olive, oil and honey/ for even though the place of growth of the trees is in,

the garden¹⁴ which is above the field

(the place of growth of the grain³²)

that is in the land generally,

behold,

also the,

Gad is part of,

"Eretz"

(a more elevated level in,

"Eretz"/ as follows.

"Eretz":

It is written³³,

A land from which bread comes forth"

(which includes all matters of food,"

also the fruits of the

Sefer HaSichos - 5752

tree)

- after and through the labor and toil of the person,

beginning with plowing and sowing,

and in the language of the Mishnah: "the sower and the plower,"

"In Eretz Yisrael they would sow first and then plow, contrary to Rabbi's [opinion].”

that - "it is hard and cannot cover

(the sowing)

without plowing"

that is,

that in addition to the plowing before the sowing

(in every land)

There is also

(in a hard land)

plowing after sowing,

and similarly the other labors of "the order of the preparation of bread"³.

And its parallel in the service of man to his Creator⁴ — that the beginning of the service is in the aspect of plowing, to have a broken and contrite heart*⁴,

as it is written²⁰ "A broken and contrite heart, O G‑d, You will not despise"⁴,

And through this there will be the sowing and growth, etc.

And there is to add regarding the aspect of plowing in the service of man — according to the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov⁴⁴ on the verse "For you shall be a land of desire",

that Bnei Yisrael are compared to land in which precious stones and pearls are buried,

but there is a need to search for them,

and even to search after search

(since they are found in special places in the land/ and there is a need to count in the depth of the land

(since in most places they are not on the surface of the land,

but

in the depth of the land)

- which is analogous to the work of plowing,

But there is a need for greater exertion"⁴.

And more generally - included in the service of man in the "land" are all the matters in which the work is done in the descent of the soul below

("land")

which are all the 39 categories of work⁴⁴,

"the sower and the plower.

forty minus one":

the expression "forty minus one"

(and not thirty-nine)

It is like the matter of that which is written"⁴ "And You have made him a little less than Elokim"

[As our Sages of blessed memory said"⁴ "Fifty gates of understanding were created in the world; all were given to Moses except one,

as it is said, 'And You have made him a little less than Elokim.']

- In addition to this, that the deficiency from Elokim is only "a little,"

lacking one,

Behold,

also this lack is a special action of the Holy One, blessed be He.

("And You made him lack") and before this action there was no lack,

since each and every Jew is in the category of Elokim,

as it is written, "I said, you are gods,"

and furthermore,

since "the Lord God is a sun and shield" / that the name

Fifteenth of Shvat

Elokim is the shield and sheath of the name Havayah,

Thus,

that each and every one of Israel is also in the aspect of the name Havayah⁵¹,

And as it is written⁵⁵ "For the portion of Havayah⁵⁴ is His people,"

But that in his descent below in "earth" this deficiency occurred to him

("And You made him lack a little from Elokim")

And this deficiency

("and You have made him lacking a little from G-d")

that through the descent below to engage in all the details of the labors of the work of the 'earth'

("forty minus one")

it is for the sake of ascent

(according to the known principle that every descent is for the sake of an ascent to a standing and state higher than before the descent)

- that the 'minus one' is completed

(forty)

and until there is a greater advantage,

with greater vigor and strength,

that rises to a more elevated level

from the level of "Elohim you are,"

and above also the level of the name Havayah.

And it should be added and explained the details of the seven species in the service of man*⁵

(and based on)

the explanation in Likkutei Torah of the AriZaL⁵ (based on Kabbalah)

- "wheat, barley, grape, fig, and pomegranate

(and also rice)

a land of olive oil and honey":

"Wheat" - food of man,

which becomes blood and flesh like his own flesh - alludes to the service that pertains to the G‑dly soul in every Jew

(and the 'man' within him)

“And barley” - food for an animal•⁵,

And as related in the Gemara*⁵ that when “he said to them, ‘Barley has become beautiful,’

they said to him, ‘Go and inform the horses and donkeys’” - alludes to the service that belongs to the animal soul within each and every Jew

(the 'animal' within him)

“And a vine” - “new wine that gladdens God and men”•* - which alludes to the increase of joy in all matters of the service of “God”,

the divine body

("wheat")

and in all matters of the service of "Men",

like "

(wine gladdens the heart)

Anushi*,

term of uprooting²*

(as in "The heart is deceitful above all

Sefer HaSichos - 5752

and incurably wicked"³⁶)

which refers to the animal soul

("its measure")

"And fig" - as it is written, "And they sewed fig leaves and made themselves aprons"⁴*,

And he continues that "And He made for them garments of skin and clothed them"* - indicates the work of refining a person's garments

(after and in addition to the work regarding the person himself)

and until the completion of the refinement in the manner of "garments of light"

(with an aleph,

as in the Torah of Rabbi Meir"**)

- that "light" alludes to the Master of the World

(aleph of "light")

as it is drawn

(by means of the Vav of the word "Ohr")

below

(up to the letter Reish of "Ohr"⁷*/ and its parallel in the service of man,

that the "Alef-Vav-Dalet" of each and every Jew is so great that it affects even the garments

("garments")

that become "garments of light"•*.

"Pomegranate" - "filled** with commandments like a pomegranate"⁷ - indicates the service of refining worldly matters.

(below even the garments of man)

through which they fulfill the commandments.

And we must add in explaining the example of "pomegranate specifically" — that each seed is distinct and separated from the other seeds

(not by means of a foreign substance,

but)

by the pomegranate itself

(the flesh of the pomegranate/ and its parallel in mitzvos,

that "one does not make bundles of mitzvos"⁷¹,

That is,

that every mitzvah is in itself,

separate from the other mitzvos,

and its separation

(not by means of something foreign, G‑d forbid,

but)

by virtue of the Torah's command

(like the separation of pomegranate seeds from each other by the flesh of the pomegranate)

And likewise in regard to worldly matters in which we fulfill the commandments,

that even their separation from the commandments⁷¹ is by virtue of the Torah's command.

And accordingly, it is understood that the order of "wheat, barley, vine, fig, and pomegranate"

(in the service of man)

is from the light to the heavy: wheat and then barley - because the service of the divine soul

(wheat)

is lighter than the service with the animal soul

(measure/ and afterwards 'gafef' - addition of joy in the service of the G-dly soul and the animal soul,

and after this, the service of refining the garments of man - fig,

and after this, also the refinement of worldly matters

(in which they fulfill the commandments)

- level.

And after this, the verse adds and repeats the word 'land':

According to what was said above

(§§63-4)

That “earth” is the place where man’s work and toil takes place in his descent below

(in the state and condition of “and You have made him a little lower than the angels”)

in plowing, sowing, and all the 39 melachos

(“forty minus one”)

- it is understood,

that the second “earth” indicates greater work and toil,

through which a greater elevation is achieved.

And regarding the difference between the labor of plowing for the sake of growth and the labor of digging in order to find precious stones and pearls

(as above, sec. 3)

And it can be said,

that the second "land" refers to the service and labor during the time of exile,

that because of