תורה 105

“Azi veZimrat YaH (My might and the song of God;) it has brought me deliverance.” (Exodus 15:2)

Behold, humankind is in need of abundant mercy, both spiritually and physically. Although everyone seeks mercy, no one knows where it is. Yet mercy is right in front of everyone’s eyes, as it is written (Deuteronomy 30:11, 12), “it is not beyond your reach. It is not in heaven….”

And see, it is brought in the Zohar (III, 137b): There is mercy and there is mercy. There is the simple mercy of Z’er Anpin, and there is the abundant mercy of Atika St imaah, as it is written (Isaiah 54:7), “and with abundant mercy I will gather you in.”

we are in need of mercy. However, on account of the many sins of the current generation, there isn’t anyone who can pray in the manner that would enable him to draw mercy. This is because there is no one who sufficiently recognizes the greatness of the Creator, on account of the extensiveness of the exile and the duress.

Thus the Holy Blessed One must Himself pray for this, as we find in the Talmud (Berakhot 7a): From where do we know that the Holy One prays? For it is written (Isaiah 56:7), “I will make them joyful in the House of My prayer.” It does not say “their prayer,” but “My prayer.” From this [we learn] that the Holy One prays. And what does He pray? “May it be My will .”

And by what means bring about, that the Blessed One will pray ? That means is . For every human has within him a part of the totality of all the worlds And to whatever he attaches himself, it is to there that he binds his portion . Thus if he follows the whims of his heart and his desires, he binds his portion and the letters and permutations to the Other Side, God forbid. The letters and permutations then become jumbled, and daat, too, becomes confused. This is the exile of the Shekhinah (Divine Presence).

Now, whoever lacks daat, lacks the trait of mercy, as it is written (Ecclesia st es 7:9), “anger abides in the bosom of fools”—therefore, it is forbidden to show mercy to someone who lacks daat, as our Sages, of blessed memory, taught (Berakhot 33a). This is because he himself lacks the trait of mercy. But when he returns in complete repentance, his portion from the totality of the worlds and the letters and permutations likewise return to their place. Daat is then whole, and mercy is awakened .

{“Then God your Lord will return et shevutekha (your captivity) and have mercy upon you, and He will bring you back together from all the peoples to which God your Lord has scattered you” (Deuteronomy 30:3) .} This is as it is written, “Then God your Lord will return”——“et SheVuTkha”——and so “have mercy upon you,” because [your] daat is whole. This is as our Sages, of blessed memory, taught concerning the verse “nor has he gone into exile” (Jeremiah 48:11)—anything that is in its place, its daat is whole (Megillah 12b).

Now, repentance depends primarily on the Torah. It is the case that every holy thing involves three stages: ebur (pregnancy), yenikah (nursing) and < mochin d’gadlut (mature mentalities)>. The entire time the thing is in potential is called “pregnancy.” from potential to actual is called “birth and nursing.” And when the thing progresses to produce the required action, it is then called “mature mentalities.”

Thus when a person studies Torah, he must likewise incorporate these three stages. His sitting down to study and putting his mind and heart to the Torah, concealing himself within it, is called “pregnancy,” because he conceals himself like a fetus in its mother’s womb. His studying and understanding the Torah is called “birth and nursing,” as it is written (Proverbs 5:19), “her breasts will satisfy you at all times.” And afterwards, when he understands one thing from another and looks to formulate new insight into [the Torah], it is called “[mature] mentalities.” This is as is brought in the Talmud concerning the verse “she brings her food from afar” (ibid. 31:14)—for the Torah is called “poor” in its place and “rich” elsewhere (Yerushalmi, Rosh HaShanah 3:5). He has to bring a proof from a different place. This is why it is called “wisdom,” in the manner of “I thought I would be wise, but it is far from me” (Ecclesia st es 7:23).

Thus it is that a person’s ability to understand one thing from another is called “mentalities”—namely, wisdom. And when he studies in this manner, his repentance is consummate. He binds the letters and the permutations in his portion of the totality of the worlds to their root and place, and so becomes a new person. Daat is then whole and mercy is awakened.