16.
What
Is
the
Day
of
the
Lord
and
the
Night
of
the
Lord,
in
the
Work?
I
heard
in
1941,
Jerusalem
Our
sages
said
about
the
verse,
“Woe
unto
you
who
desire
the
day
of
the
Lord!
Why
do
you
need
the
day
of
the
Lord?
It
is
darkness,
and
not
light”
(Amos
5):
“There
is
an
allegory
about
a
rooster
and
a
bat
that
were
awaiting
the
light.
The
rooster
said
to
the
bat,
‘I
am
waiting
for
the
light
since
the
light
is
mine.
But
you,
why
do
you
need
its
light?’”
(Sanhedrin
98b).
The
interpretation
is
that
since
the
bat
has
no
eyes
to
see,
what
does
it
gain
from
the
sunlight?
On
the
contrary,
to
one
who
has
no
eyes,
sunlight
only
makes
it
darker.
We
must
understand
that
allegory,
meaning
how
the
eyes
are
connected
to
looking
in
the
light
of
the
Creator,
which
the
text
names
“the
day
of
the
Lord.”
They
gave
an
allegory
in
that
regard
about
a
bat,
that
one
who
has
no
eyes
remains
in
the
dark.
We
must
also
understand
what
is
the
day
of
the
Lord,
what
is
the
night
of
the
Lord,
and
what
is
the
difference
between
them.
We
discern
the
day
of
people
by
the
sunrise,
but
with
the
day
of
the
Lord,
in
what
do
we
discern
it?
The
answer
is,
as
the
appearance
of
the
sun.
In
other
words,
when
the
sun
shines
on
the
ground,
we
call
it
“day.”
When
the
sun
does
not
shine,
it
is
called
“darkness.”
It
is
the
same
with
the
Creator.
A
day
is
called
“revelation,”
and
darkness
is
called
“concealment
of
the
face.”
This
means
that
when
there
is
revelation
of
the
face,
when
it
is
as
clear
as
day
for
a
person,
this
is
called
“a
day.”
It
is
as
our
sages
said
about
the
verse,
“‘The
murderer
rises
at
daytime
to
kill
the
poor
and
indigent;
and
in
the
night,
he
is
as
a
thief.’
Since
he
said,
‘and
in
the
night,
he
is
as
a
thief,’
it
follows
that
light
is
day.
He
says
there,
that
if
the
matter
is
as
clear
to
you
as
light
that
comes
over
the
souls,
he
is
a
murderer,
and
it
is
possible
to
save
him
in
his
soul”
(Psachim
2).
Thus,
we
see
that
in
the
matter
of
“day,”
the
Gemara
says
that
it
is
a
matter
as
clear
as
day.
It
follows
that
the
day
of
the
Lord
will
mean
that
the
guidance
by
which
the
Creator
leads
the
world
will
be
clearly
in
the
form
of
good
and
doing
good.
For
example,
when
one
prays,
his
prayer
is
immediately
answered
and
he
receives
what
he
has
prayed
for,
and
one
succeeds
wherever
one
turns.
This
is
called
“the
day
of
the
Lord.”
Conversely,
darkness,
which
is
night,
will
mean
concealment
of
the
face.
This
brings
one
doubts
in
the
guidance
of
good
and
doing
good,
and
foreign
thoughts.
In
other
words,
the
concealment
of
the
guidance
brings
one
all
these
foreign
views
and
thoughts.
This
is
called
“night”
and
“darkness,”
meaning
that
one
experiences
a
state
where
he
feels
that
the
world
has
turned
dark
on
him.
Now
we
can
interpret
what
is
written,
“Woe
unto
you
who
desire
the
day
of
the
Lord!
Why
do
you
need
the
day
of
the
Lord?
It
is
darkness,
and
not
light.”
The
thing
is
that
those
who
await
the
day
of
the
Lord,
it
means
that
they
are
waiting
to
be
imparted
faith
above
reason,
that
faith
will
be
so
strong,
as
if
they
see
with
their
eyes,
with
certainty,
that
it
is
so,
that
the
Creator
watches
over
the
world
in
a
manner
of
good
and
doing
good.
In
other
words,
they
do
not
want
to
see
how
the
Creator
leads
the
world
as
The
Good
Who
Does
Good,
since
seeing
is
contradictory
to
faith.
In
other
words,
faith
is
precisely
where
it
is
against
reason.
And
when
one
does
what
is
against
one’s
reason,
this
is
called
“faith
above
reason.”
This
means
that
they
believe
that
the
guidance
of
the
Creator
over
the
creatures
is
in
a
manner
of
good
and
doing
good.
While
they
do
not
see
it
with
absolute
certainty,
they
do
not
say
to
the
Creator,
“We
want
to
see
the
quality
of
good
and
doing
good
as
seeing
within
reason.”
Rather,
they
want
it
to
remain
in
them
as
faith
above
reason,
but
they
ask
of
the
Creator
to
give
them
such
strength
that
this
faith
will
be
so
strong,
as
if
they
see
it
within
reason,
that
there
will
be
no
difference
between
faith
and
knowledge
in
the
mind.
This
is
what
they,
those
who
want
to
adhere
to
the
Creator,
refer
to
as
“the
day
of
the
Lord.”
In
other
words,
if
they
feel
it
as
knowledge,
the
light
of
the
Creator,
called
“the
upper
abundance,”
will
go
to
the
vessels
of
reception,
called
“Kelim
[vessels]
of
separation.”
They
do
not
want
this
since
it
will
go
to
the
will
to
receive,
which
is
the
opposite
of
Kedusha
[holiness],
which
is
against
the
will
to
receive
for
one’s
own
sake.
Instead,
they
want
to
adhere
to
the
Creator,
and
this
can
be
only
through
equivalence
of
form.
However,
to
achieve
this,
meaning
in
order
for
one
to
have
desire
and
craving
to
adhere
to
the
Creator,
since
one
is
born
with
a
nature
of
a
will
to
receive
only
for
one’s
own
benefit,
how
is
it
possible
to
achieve
something
that
is
completely
against
nature?
For
this
reason,
one
must
make
great
efforts
until
he
acquires
a
second
nature,
which
is
the
desire
to
bestow.
When
one
is
imparted
the
desire
to
bestow,
he
is
qualified
to
receive
the
upper
abundance
and
not
blemish,
since
all
the
flaws
come
only
through
the
will
to
receive
for
oneself.
That
is,
even
when
doing
something
in
order
to
bestow,
deep
inside
there
is
a
thought
that
he
will
receive
something
for
this
act
of
bestowal
that
he
is
now
performing.
In
a
word,
man
is
unable
to
do
anything
if
he
does
not
receive
something
in
return
for
the
act.
In
other
words,
he
must
enjoy,
and
any
pleasure
that
one
receives
for
one’s
own
benefit,
that
pleasure
must
cause
him
separation
from
the
Life
of
Lives,
because
of
the
separation.
This
stops
one
from
adhering
to
the
Creator,
since
Dvekut
[adhesion]
is
measured
by
the
equivalence
of
form.
It
is
thus
impossible
to
have
pure
bestowal
without
a
mixture
of
reception
from
one’s
own
powers.
Therefore,
for
one
to
have
the
powers
of
bestowal,
we
need
a
second
nature,
so
one
will
have
the
strength
to
achieve
equivalence
of
form.
In
other
words,
the
Creator
is
the
giver
and
does
not
receive
anything,
for
He
lacks
nothing,
meaning
that
what
He
gives
is
also
not
because
of
a
lack,
that
if
He
has
no
one
to
give
to,
He
feels
it
as
a
lack.
Rather,
we
must
perceive
this
as
a
game.
That
is,
it
is
not
that
when
He
wants
to
give,
it
is
something
that
He
needs.
Instead,
this
is
all
like
a
game.
It
is
as
our
sages
said
regarding
the
queen:
She
asked,
“What
does
the
Creator
do
after
He
has
created
the
world?”
The
answer
was,
“He
sits
and
plays
with
a
whale,”
as
it
is
written,
“This
whale
You
have
created
to
play
with”
(Avoda
Zarah,
p
3).
The
matter
of
the
whale
refers
to
Dvekut
and
connection
(as
it
is
written,
“according
to
the
opening
of
man
and
the
connections”).
This
means
that
the
purpose,
which
is
the
connection
of
the
Creator
with
the
creatures,
is
only
a
game;
it
is
not
a
matter
of
a
desire
and
a
need.
The
difference
between
a
game
and
a
desire
is
that
everything
that
comes
in
the
desire
is
a
necessity.
If
one
does
not
obtain
one’s
desire,
he
is
deficient.
But
with
games,
even
if
one
does
not
obtain
the
thing,
it
is
not
considered
a
lack,
as
they
say,
“It
is
not
so
bad
that
I
did
not
get
what
I
planned
because
it
is
not
so
important.”
This
is
so
because
the
desire
he
had
for
it
was
only
a
game
and
not
serious.
It
follows,
that
the
whole
purpose
is
for
one’s
work
to
be
entirely
in
bestowal,
and
he
will
not
have
any
desire
or
craving
to
receive
pleasure
for
his
work.
This
is
a
high
degree,
as
it
is
what
happens
in
the
Creator.
And
this
is
called
“the
day
of
the
Lord.”
The
day
of
the
Lord
is
called
“wholeness,”
as
it
is
written,
“Let
the
stars
of
morning
be
dark;
let
it
look
for
light,
but
have
none,”
for
light
is
considered
wholeness.
When
one
acquires
the
second
nature,
the
desire
to
bestow
that
the
Creator
gives
him
after
the
first
nature,
the
will
to
receive,
now
he
receives
the
desire
to
bestow,
and
then
one
is
qualified
to
serve
the
Creator
in
completeness.
This
is
considered
“the
day
of
the
Lord.”
Thus,
one
who
has
not
been
rewarded
with
the
second
nature,
to
be
able
to
serve
the
Creator
in
the
manner
of
bestowal,
and
waits
to
be
rewarded
with
this,
meaning
with
bestowal,
meaning
he
has
already
exerted
and
did
what
he
could
to
obtain
that
force,
he
is
considered
to
be
awaiting
the
day
of
the
Lord—to
have
equivalence
of
form
with
the
Creator.
When
the
day
of
the
Lord
comes,
he
is
elated.
He
is
happy
that
he
has
emerged
from
the
control
of
the
will
to
receive
for
himself
which
separated
him
from
the
Creator.
Now
he
clings
to
the
Creator
and
considers
it
as
having
risen
to
the
top.
It
is
the
opposite
for
one
whose
work
is
only
in
self-reception:
He
is
happy
as
long
as
he
thinks
that
he
will
receive
some
reward
from
his
work.
When
he
sees
that
the
will
to
receive
will
not
receive
any
reward
for
his
work,
he
becomes
sad
and
idle.
Sometimes
he
comes
to
doubt
the
beginning
and
says,
“I
did
not
swear
on
this.”
Thus,
moreover,
the
day
of
the
Lord
is
attaining
the
power
to
bestow.
If
one
were
to
be
told,
“This
will
be
your
profit
from
engaging
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot,”
he
would
say,
“I
consider
it
darkness,
and
not
light,”
since
this
knowledge
brings
one
to
darkness.