Letter
1
May
2,
1922,
Jerusalem
To
my
friend…
It
is
now
noon
and
I
have
received
his
letter
from
the
eighth
of
the
first
month,
and
your
beggar’s
complaints
against
me
are
an
accepted
prayer,
as
it
is
written
in
The
Zohar.
I
have
already
proven
to
you
in
my
previous
letter
that
while
you
reproach
me
for
not
writing,
it
is
your
own
languor
you
should
be
reproaching.
Note,
that
since
the
seventh
of
Shevat
[Hebrew
month
around
February]
to
the
eighth
of
Nissan,
meaning
more
than
two
months,
you
have
not
written
me
a
word,
while
I
wrote
you
four
letters
in
that
time:
on
the
22nd
of
Shevat,
the
10th
of
Adar,
the
1st
of
Nissan,
and
the
8th
of
Nissan.
And
if
this
wisp
still
satiates
the
lion,
it
is
as
it
is
written,
“for
one
higher
than
the
high
watches,
and
high
ones
are
atop
them.”
As
for
the
answer
he
firmly
demands,
I
shall
reply
that
everyone
believes
in
private
Providence,
but
do
not
adhere
to
it
at
all.
The
reason
is
that
an
alien
and
foul
thought
…
cannot
be
attributed
to
the
Creator,
who
is
the
epitome
of
the
“good
who
does
good.”
However,
only
to
the
true
servants
of
the
Creator
does
the
knowledge
of
private
Providence
open,
that
He
caused
all
the
reasons
that
preceded
it,
both
good
and
bad.
Then
they
are
adhered
to
private
Providence,
for
all
who
are
connected
to
the
pure
are
pure.
Since
the
Guardian
is
united
with
His
guarded,
there
is
no
apparent
division
between
bad
and
good.
They
are
all
loved
and
are
all
clear,
for
they
are
all
carriers
of
the
vessels
of
the
Creator,
ready
to
glorify
the
revelation
of
His
uniqueness.
It
is
known
by
the
senses,
and
to
that
extent,
they
have
knowledge
in
the
end
that
all
the
actions
and
the
thoughts,
both
good
and
bad,
are
the
carriers
of
the
vessels
of
the
Creator.
He
prepared
them,
from
His
mouth
they
emerged,
and
at
the
end
of
correction
it
will
be
known
to
all.
However,
in
between,
it
is
a
long
and
threatening
exile.
The
main
problem
is
that
when
one
sees
some
wrongful
action,
he
falls
from
his
degree
(and
clings
to
the
famous
lie
and
forgets
that
he
is
like
an
ax
in
the
hand
of
the
cutter).
Instead,
one
thinks
of
himself
as
the
owner
of
this
act
and
forgets
the
reason
for
all
the
consequences
from
whom
everything
comes,
and
that
there
is
no
other
operator
in
the
world
but
Him.
This
is
the
lesson.
Although
he
knew
it
at
first,
still,
at
the
time
of
need,
he
will
not
control
this
awareness
to
attribute
everything
to
the
cause,
which
sentences
to
the
side
of
merit.
This
is
the
whole
reply
to
his
letter.
I
have
already
told
you
face
to
face
a
true
allegory
about
these
two
concepts,
where
one
teaches
of
the
other.
Yet,
the
force
of
concealment
overpowers
in
between,
as
our
sages
said
about
those
two
jokers
before
the
rabbi,
who
were
amusing
all
those
who
were
sad.
There
is
an
allegory
about
a
king
who
grew
fond
of
his
servant
until
he
wanted
to
raise
him
above
all
the
ministers,
for
he
had
recognized
true
and
unwavering
love
in
his
heart.
However,
it
is
not
royal
manners
to
raise
a
person
to
the
highest
level
at
once
without
an
apparent
reason.
Rather,
it
is
royal
manners
to
reveal
the
reasons
to
all
with
profound
wisdom.
What
did
he
do?
He
appointed
the
servant
a
guard
at
the
city
gate,
and
told
a
minister
who
was
a
skilled
joker
to
pretend
to
rebel
against
the
kingship
and
wage
war
to
conquer
the
house
while
the
guards
are
unprepared.
The
minister
did
as
the
king
had
commanded,
and
with
great
wisdom
and
craftiness
pretended
to
fight
against
the
king’s
house.
The
servant
risked
his
life
and
saved
the
king,
fighting
devotedly
and
bravely
against
the
minister
until
his
love
for
the
king
was
evident
to
all.
Then
the
minister
took
off
his
clothes
and
there
was
great
laughter
(for
he
had
fought
so
fiercely
and
bravely,
and
now
he
realized
that
there
was
only
fiction
here,
and
not
reality).
They
laughed
the
most
when
the
minister
told
of
the
depth
of
the
imaginations
of
his
cruelty
and
the
fear
he
had
envisioned,
and
every
single
item
in
this
terrible
war
became
a
round
of
laughter
and
great
joy.
Yet,
in
spite
of
everything,
he
is
still
a
servant
and
is
not
scholarly,
and
how
can
he
be
raised
above
all
the
ministers
and
the
king’s
servants?
Then
the
king
reflected
and
said
to
that
minister
that
he
must
disguise
himself
as
a
robber
and
a
murderer,
and
wage
fierce
war
against
him.
The
king
knew
that
in
the
second
war
he
would
display
wondrous
wisdom
and
merit
standing
at
the
head
of
all
the
ministers.
Hence,
he
appointed
the
servant
in
charge
of
the
kingdom’s
treasury.
The
minister
now
dressed
as
a
ruthless
killer
and
came
to
loot
the
king’s
treasures.
The
poor
appointee
fought
courageously
and
devotedly
until
the
cup
was
full.
Then
the
minister
took
off
his
clothes
and
there
was
great
joy
and
laughter
in
the
king’s
palace,
even
more
than
before.
The
details
of
the
minister’s
tricks
aroused
great
laughter
since
now
the
minister
had
to
be
more
clever
than
before
because
now
it
is
evidently
known
that
no
one
is
cruel
in
the
king’s
domain,
and
all
the
cruel
ones
are
but
jokers.
Therefore,
the
minister
used
great
craftiness
to
acquire
clothes
of
evil.
Yet,
in
the
meantime,
the
servant
inherited
“wisdom”
from
after-knowledge,
and
“love”
from
foreknowledge,
and
then
he
is
established
for
eternity.
In
truth,
all
the
wars
in
that
exile
are
a
wondrous
sight,
and
everyone
knows
in
their
kind
interior
that
it
is
all
a
kind
of
wit
and
joy
that
brings
only
good.
Still,
there
is
no
tactic
to
ease
the
weight
of
the
war
and
the
threat
on
oneself.
I
have
elaborated
on
this
to
you
face
to
face,
and
now
you
have
knowledge
of
one
end
of
this
allegory,
and
with
the
Creator’s
help
you
will
also
understand
it
on
its
other
end.
But
the
thing
you
want
to
hear
me
speak
about
the
most
is
one
to
which
I
cannot
answer
anything.
I
have
also
given
you
an
allegory
about
this
face
to
face,
for
“the
kingdom
of
the
earth
is
as
the
kingdom
of
the
heaven,”
and
the
true
guidance
is
given
to
the
ministers.
Yet,
everything
is
done
according
to
the
King’s
counsel
and
His
signature.
The
King
himself
does
no
more
than
sign
the
plan
that
the
ministers
devised.
If
He
finds
a
flaw
in
the
plan,
He
does
not
correct
it,
but
places
another
minister
in
his
place,
and
the
first
resigns
from
office.
So
is
man:
a
small
world
behaving
according
to
the
letters
imprinted
in
him,
since
kings
rule
the
seventy
nations
in
him.
This
is
the
meaning
of
what
is
written
in
the
Sefer
Yetzira
[Book
of
Creation]:
“He
crowned
a
certain
letter.”
Each
letter
is
a
minister
for
its
time,
making
evaluations,
and
the
King
of
the
world
signs
them.
When
the
letter
errs
in
some
plan,
it
immediately
resigns
from
office
and
He
crowns
another
letter
in
its
place.
This
is
the
meaning
of
“Each
generation
and
its
judges.”
At
the
end
of
correction,
that
letter
called
Messiah
will
rule.
It
will
complement
and
tie
all
the
generations
to
a
crown
of
glory
in
the
hand
of
God.
Now
you
can
understand
how
I
can
interfere
with
your
business
of
state,
that
have
already
…kings
and
judges,
and
each
must
uncover
what
he
has
been
assigned
to
uncover.
The
ferry
of
unification
…
he
does
not
want
to
correct
them;
I
will
correct
them
nonetheless.
And
yet,
all
will
become
clear
through
incarnations.
Because
of
it,
I
yearn
to
hear
all
your
decisions
in
their
every
detail,
since
there
is
profound
wisdom
in
every
detail,
and
if
I
heard
some
fixed
orders
from
you,
I
would
be
able
to
fill
them
and
delight
your
heart.
Know
that
it
is
very
difficult
for
me
to
hear
your
language,
for
you
have
no
permanence
in
the
names
and
their
meaning.
Hence,
I
will
open
for
you
a
door
in
the
meaning
of
the
appellations,
and
you
will
measure
for
me
the
sentence
of
your
wisdom.
In
this
way,
I
will
be
able
to
follow
your
intention
through.
Therefore,
I
will
set
the
appellations
as
I
have
seen
from
all
your
letters,
to
establish
between
us
permanently,
to
know
all
that
you
will
write
without
any
scrutiny,
like
signs
on
wine-jars.
We
shall
begin
from
the
root
of
all
roots,
and
reach
the
very
end.
Five
degrees
are
marked
in
general:
Yechida,
Haya,
Neshama,
Ruach,
Nefesh.
All
these
are
grouped
together
in
the
correcting
body.
Yechida,
Haya,
and
Neshama
are
above
time,
and
though
they
are
found
in
a
creature’s
heart,
they
are
regarded
as
surrounding
from
afar.
They
do
not
come
in
a
body
during
its
correction,
for
a
root,
Rosh,
Toch,
Sof
[respectively:
head,
interior,
end],
is
discerned
in
the
hidden
source,
too.
The
Rosh
is
the
root
for
the
Yechida;
it
is
Ein
Sof
[Infinity].
There,
even
in
its
place,
its
light
is
undisclosed
and
everything
is
nullified
as
a
candle
before
a
torch.
Afterward,
the
root
of
the
Toch,
and
it
is
the
root
for
Haya.
This
is
the
meaning
of
the
light
of
Ein
Sof,
meaning
the
appearance
of
His
complete
light.
While
in
time,
this
light
is
attained
only
as
its
sustenance,
and
this
is
why
it
is
called
the
“root
for
Haya.”
Subsequently,
the
root
for
the
Sof,
and
it
is
the
root
for
the
souls.
It
is
just
as
in
the
beginning,
Ein
Sof.
Here,
an
upper
veil
spreads,
and
the
time
begins
in
the
form
of
“six
thousand
years
the
world
exists,
and
one
is
ruined.”
This
is
called
Ruach,
Nefesh,
and
their
root
is
adhered
to
the
Neshama.
However,
they
also
expand
below
as
Torah,
which
is
a
spirit
of
life,
and
Mitzva
[commandment],
which
is
the
Nefesh.
This
Nefesh
is
the
permanence,
stillness,
the
embracing
force
that
strengthens
the
body
in
a
permanent
state
by
the
force
of
females
imprinted
in
this
Nefesh.
This
Ruach
blows
the
spirit
of
life
and
the
light
of
Torah
in
the
image
of
the
female.
Its
root
explains
the
meaning
of
“and
breathed
into
his
nostrils
the
breath
of
life;
and
man
became
a
living
soul.”
This
pertains
to
the
spirit
that
rises
to
the
soul
and
receives
from
it
life
in
the
light
of
the
King’s
face,
bringing
this
life
to
the
soul,
which
at
that
time
is
called
a
“living
soul.”
This
is
also
the
order
in
all
the
Zivugim
[couplings]
of
the
seven
females
of
the
Rosh,
and
the
two
below
in
the
Nefesh.
This
is
the
meaning
of
“God
places
the
lone
ones
in
the
house,”
meaning
when
the
force
of
the
females
appears,
by
“All
the
glory
of
the
king’s
daughter
is
inside.”
The
primary
corrections
and
the
work
are
to
reveal
the
forces
of
the
soul,
which
The
Zohar
calls
“the
upper
world.”
This,
too,
belongs
to
the
hidden
source,
as
the
root
of
the
end,
and
every
Zivug
[coupling]
is
the
manifestation
of
one
light
in
the
reality
of
the
upper
world.
This
is
the
meaning
of
“We
whose
sons
are
as
plants
grown
up
in
their
youth,”
meaning
the
Ibur
[impregnation]
in
the
upper
world.
By
the
Zivug
…
to
the
lower
ones
…
so
it
came
upon
His
thought,
and
the
end
of
the
Rosh,
the
hidden
source,
will
complement
all
the
lights
…
a
continuation
from
the
book,
Treasure
of
Knowledge.
The
mind
itself
is
man's
soul
and
the
whole
of
man,
for
in
this
he
is
defined
entirely.
What
emerges
from
it
is
its
clothes
and
those
who
serve
it.
Some
are
its
branches,
and
some
are
considered
alien
to
it.
This
force,
though
it
is
in
his
soul,
he
will
still
not
see
it;
it
is
concealed
from
any
living
thing.
Do
not
wonder
about
this,
for
the
eye
controls
and
is
the
most
important
among
all
senses.
Yet,
one
never
sees
oneself,
but
only
feels
one’s
existence
in
a
way
that
sight
would
not
add
to
them
any
knowledge.
Hence,
nothing
was
created
in
vain,
for
they
are
sensations
to
them
and
there
is
no
need
to
add
to
the
sensation.
There
is
also
the
mental
power,
which
is
the
man’s
self.
It
is
not
given
in
any
discernment
in
the
senses,
for
the
sensation
of
one’s
existence
is
quite
sufficient,
and
no
person
will
not
suffice
for
one’s
own
existence
and
demand
testimony
to
his
senses
(and
the
reason
that
there
is
no
feeling
without
movement,
meaning
that
sometimes
the
sensation
stops
and
there
is
no
movement
in
his
self,
so
it
is
more
like
absolute
awareness).
It
is
a
grave
mistake
to
resemble
the
form
of
the
essence
of
the
mind
to
a
form
of
concept
gripped
in
diminution
by
the
mind’s
eye.
This
is
utter
falsehood,
for
this
concept
is
like
a
light
that
emerges
and
operates.
Its
light
is
felt
as
long
as
it
is
active
until
it
ends
its
activity
and
its
light
vanishes.
From
this
you
learn
that
the
concept
sensed
while
active
is
but
a
small
and
feeble
branch
of
it
(the
essential
sensation
is
considered
knowledge,
for
the
power
to
sense
is
also
a
sense,
a
consequence,
and
does
not
need
the
essential
feeling).
It
is
not
at
all
like
the
essence,
neither
in
quantity
nor
in
quality,
like
the
beaten
stone
that
displays
sparks
of
light
that
are
renewed
by
the
general
embracing
force
in
the
stone,
although
in
the
form
of
the
embracing
force
in
it
there
is
no
light
at
all.
Also,
the
core
of
the
mind
is
the
comprehensive
force
in
man,
and
various
branches
stem
from
it,
as
in
heroism
and
power,
heat
and
light,
according
to
the
laws
of
the
operated
action.
Although
we
refer
to
it
as
the
“mind’s
soul,”
or
the
“core
of
the
mind,”
it
is
because
the
mind
is
also
a
branch
of
it,
the
most
important
in
the
world
since
“One
is
praised
according
to
his
mind.”
Since
one
does
not
give
that
which
he
does
not
have,
we
thus
define
it
as
“mind,”
meaning
at
least
no
less
than
the
sensed
mind,
as
it
is
a
branch
and
a
part
of
it.
It
reigns
over
all
her
branches
and
swallows
them
like
a
candle
before
a
torch.
The
mind
does
not
connect
in
any
action,
but
the
various
actions
connect
and
become
fixed
in
the
mind.
One
discerns
that
all
of
reality
is
but
its
servants,
both
in
discipline,
and
in
order
to
improve
it,
for
they
are
all
lost,
while
the
mind
in
general
develops.
Hence,
all
our
engagements
are
only
in
the
ways
of
the
mind
and
its
ambitions,
and
more
than
that
is
not
necessary.
Yehuda
Leib