גזילה ה

“All the craftsmen [umnin] are paid guardians [shomrai sachar].” For the four guardians are the aspect of the rectification of the malchus [sovereignty], as above. And their laws are three, which are: liability, exemption, and an intermediate. That is: the shomer chinam [unpaid guardian] is exempt from everything; the sho’ail [borrower] is liable for everything; and the shomer sachar and the socheir [renter] are exempt in part and liable in part.

This is the aspect of good, and its opposite — that is, evil — and the intermediate. That is, the aspect of the Aitz HaDa’as [Tree of Knowledge], which is mixed of good and evil. Through these three aspects is the rectification of the malchus, which is the aspect of positive commandments [mitzvos asai] and negative commandments [mitzvos lo sa’aseh] and the discretionary [r’shus]. That is: to subdue the evil and to do good; and to refine the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge, to raise the good to holiness — in the aspect of the completeness of lashon hakodesh [the holy tongue] through targum [translation/Aramaic]. And as is understood from the discourse “Tefillah LaChavakuk” (siman 19).

And this is the aspect of: “Turn from evil and do good; seek peace” (Tehillim 34:15) — which are the three aspects mentioned above: to subdue the evil, to do good, and to refine and raise the good from the aspect of the intermediate. And this is the aspect of “seek peace,” for peace is the intermediate between two opposites. And through the rectification of the aspect of the intermediate, the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge, through it peace is made — for it is refined and sweetened from the evil and rises to the good, and peace is made between right and left. And therefore shalom [peace] in gematria equals Chashmal with the inclusions [kollelim], as is brought. For Chashmal is the aspect of the rectification of the lashon targum, the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge, as above.

And these are the three laws of the four guardians, which are the aspect of the rectification of the malchus, as above — which are: liability, exemption, and intermediate, the aspect of the three rectifications mentioned above, corresponding to the three aspects of good, evil, and intermediate, as above.

And this is the aspect of the shomer chinam, who swears regarding everything and is exempt — which is in the aspect of holiness, the aspect of good, where all the exemptions are and there is no liability at all. And this is the aspect of the shomer chinam, who does not desire any payment of wages, but does everything out of love — like a son who serves his father out of love. And this is the aspect of the rectification of the malchus through the aspect of “son” [ben], in the aspect of: “All of Israel are children of kings” — as our Sages of blessed memory said (Shabbos 67a).

But the sho’ail is the opposite — for all the benefit is his. Which corresponds to the aspect of the Sitra Achara, which seeks and craves all the desires and pleasures. And therefore he needs extra guarding, for there one must guard most. And therefore he is liable for everything, for there are all the liabilities — for it is called “obligation” [chovah], as is brought.

And the shomer sachar is the aspect of the servant [eved], for he is hired to guard like a servant. And therefore he is an intermediate — liable in part and exempt in part, in the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge that is mixed of good and evil. And this is the aspect of Matat[ron], who is the aspect of the servant.

And this is the aspect of the craftsmen [umnin] who are paid guardians. For I heard from our master, our teacher and our rabbi [i.e., Rabbainu], may his light shine, regarding the discourse “Tefillah LaChavakuk” mentioned above — regarding what he said there, that the aspect of milah [circumcision] is in the aspect of Chashmal, in the aspect of the completeness of lashon hakodesh through targum, which is the Tree of Knowledge. That is, that one refines and raises the good to holiness — see there.

And he said that this is the answer to the heretics [teshuvos haminim], as it is brought in the Midrash, that they asked: If Hashem, blessed be He, desires the circumcision, why did He not create man already circumcised? For how is it possible that the work of Hashem, blessed be He, should lack rectification?

But it is in the aspect mentioned above. For even though the lashon hakodesh that comes from Above is complete, even so, it has no completeness except through the good that is raised from the lashon targum. And this is the aspect of the milah, as above. That is, the things that come from Above to this world have no completeness except when one refines the holiness in this world from the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil — which is the aspect of the completeness of lashon hakodesh through lashon targum.

And it appears, in my humble opinion, that this is also hinted at in the Midrash that is brought there: “Wheat needs to be ground,” etc. — “even man needs rectification” — see there. That is, all things need rectification, that is, birur [refinement] — which is the aspect of the birur of the Tree of Knowledge. And this is the aspect of the milah, as above.

And this is the aspect of all the craftsmanship [umanus] in the world. For certainly: “Everything that G–d has made — one cannot add to it or subtract from it, and He has made everything beautiful” (Koheles 3:14). And even so, all things need rectification by man. And this is the aspect of all craftsmanship. For no complete vessel is created from Heaven — and specifically the lower beings, people, must be craftsmen and rectify the vessels. For this is why Hashem, blessed be He, created His world — that people should rectify all things. And this is the aspect of the birur of the Tree of Knowledge, the aspect of the completeness of lashon hakodesh through targum, which is the aspect of the rectification of the milah, as above.

And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said in Maseches Kiddushin: that one must learn a craft, and afterward marry a woman, as it is written: “See life with the woman,” etc. (Koheles 9:9) — “life” is the aspect of craftsmanship. For craftsmanship is also the aspect of the rectification of the bris [covenant], as above. And this is what they said there: “There is no poverty from craftsmanship and no wealth,” etc. — “Rather, let him seek mercy from the One Who,” etc. For even though we see that people earn their livelihood from craftsmanship, one must know and believe that this is only through his rectifying those vessels that he completes through his craft — which is the aspect of the rectification of the bris, as above. And through this sustenance is drawn to him, for upon this depends sustenance — as is brought many times, that sustenance depends on the rectification of the bris. And the essential [element] is through refining the birurim and raising them upward — through which abundance is drawn, as is known.

[continued:] It emerges that even though one earns his livelihood from craftsmanship, this is only through the rectification and the birur, as above. And therefore there is no poverty or wealth from the craftsmanship itself, but rather according to the rectification — according to what one merits to refine and rectify, as above. And this is what they said: “Rather, let him seek mercy” — for the essential thing is tefillah. For the essential birur and rectification is tefillah, as is brought — that the greatest birur of all is only through tefillah.

And this is what they said there: “I set aside all the crafts in the world and teach my son only Torah.” For the Torah rectifies everything. And therefore the Torah is called oman [master craftsman], as it is written: “And I was with Him as an oman” (Mishlai 8:30).

But aside from the Torah — that is, one who does not merit to learn Torah — certainly must learn a craft, as our Sages of blessed memory strongly admonished there. For craftsmanship is rectification and birur, the aspect of the rectification of the bris. And through this one merits sustenance, as above.

And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said: “Idleness leads to immorality” [habatalah m’vi’ah lidai zimah]. That is, one who does not do work comes to the blemish of the bris. For the idleness from craftsmanship is the aspect of the blemish of the bris, as above. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said: “Anyone who does not teach his son a craft, it is as if he taught him banditry” [listus]. For banditry and robbery is the aspect of the blemish of the bris, as Rabbainu of blessed memory wrote in the discourse on robbery (siman 69). For even if he does not actually come to commit robberies, even so, he is called a robber — as if he robs the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were. For “the earth is Hashem’s and its fullness” (Tehillim 24:1), and a person does not merit and is not permitted to benefit from the world until he rectifies things — through which he acquires and merits those things. And this is the aspect of: it is forbidden to benefit from this world before reciting a blessing — which is the rectification. And after the blessing, it is his, as our Sages of blessed memory said: since he rectified it. But before the blessing, it says: “The earth is Hashem’s and its fullness.” And one who benefits without a blessing, it is as if he robs the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Congregation of Israel, as our Sages of blessed memory said there in Berachos. And therefore a person must specifically engage in some occupation — either in Torah or in craftsmanship and trade — in order to make some rectification, for which he came to this world. And therefore one who has no craft is a robber, as if he robs Him, blessed be He, as above. [summary:] It emerges that craftsmanship is in the aspect of the rectification of the bris, in the aspect of the milah, which is the aspect of Chashmal — which is the aspect of the completeness of lashon hakodesh through the targum, which is the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge, as above. And therefore the craftsmen are paid guardians — for they are in the aspect of paid guardians who are in the aspect of targum, in the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge, as above. And likewise the socheir — his law is like a shomer sachar. For the shomer sachar is the aspect of a servant who serves in order to receive a reward, as above. And therefore he is in the aspect of Matat[ron], the aspect of the servant, the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge that is mixed of good and evil. And therefore the law of the shomer sachar is liability and exemption, as above. And likewise the socheir is also in this aspect, since he has benefit — for he uses the object — he is also in the aspect of one who serves in order to receive a reward, which is the aspect of the servant, as above. For these four guardians also hint at the service of Hashem. For those who serve are called “guardians,” as it is written: “And he guarded My charge, My commandments,” etc. (Beraishis 26:5). And there are among them four aspects mentioned above, whose generality is three aspects mentioned above — that is, liability and exemption and a mixture of both. And it can be hinted that this is the aspect of the four who entered the Pardais [orchard] — which Rabbainu, may his light shine, wrote about (siman 31): that these four aspects are found among those who enter the service of Hashem and draw close to the Tzaddik. For there is one who enters in peace and exits in peace — the aspect of Rabbi Akiva. And there is the opposite — one who chops the plantings [m’katzeitz ban’ti’os]. And there is the aspect of: “he peeked and was stricken” [haitzitz v’nifga] — “he peeked and died” — that is, one who snatches and enters beyond his level — see all of this in the discourse on Kisufin. And this is the aspect of the four guardians, whose generality is three — that is, liability, exemption, and intermediate, as above. That is: the shomer chinam is exempt from everything, which is the aspect of one who serves Hashem with love, for free, without any receiving of reward. And there is the aspect of all the exemptions — for it is the ultimate completeness of holiness, where there is no liability at all. And this is the aspect of “entered in peace and exited in peace,” which is the completeness of holiness. And there is the opposite — the aspect of the sho’ail, where all the benefit is his and he does not pay any wages. And he is the exact opposite of the shomer chinam, who is the aspect of a guardian and servant for free, without any receiving of wages — and he is the aspect of “free” [chinam] that is within holiness, as our Sages of blessed memory said: “Just as I am for free, so too you shall be for free.” And the sho’ail is the opposite — the aspect of “free” of the Sitra Achara, which is called “free” — as it is written: “We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt for free” (Bamidbar 11:5) — free from mitzvos. For he wants all the desires for free, without wages — that is, without any mitzvos or service of Hashem. And this is the aspect of the sho’ail, where all the benefit is his and he does not pay any wages. And this is the aspect of “chopping the plantings” — which is the aspect of completely evil, as above. And therefore he is liable for everything, for there are all the liabilities, as above. And the shomer sachar is the aspect of one who guards and serves for the sake of receiving wages. And likewise the socheir is the aspect of one who gives wages — that is, the aspect of the service of Hashem that is the aspect of “wages” that are given to Him, blessed be He, as it were, as it is written: “If it is good in your eyes, give me my wages” (Zechariyah 11:12). But he also has benefit — the aspect of the socheir who has benefit from the object. And these two aspects — that is, the shomer sachar and the socheir, who are in the aspect of those who serve in order to receive a reward, as above, and therefore are in the aspect of the servant, the aspect of Matat[ron], the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, as above — they are in the aspect of “he peeked and was stricken,” “he peeked,” etc. For their blemish was in the aspect of the blemish of the Tree of Knowledge, as is brought, and as it says in the Tikkunim: “On the day you eat from it, you shall surely die” — on that day, “he peeked,” etc. For this blemish of “peeking” — that is, entering and gazing at what is not fitting for him — this blemish is because he wants to receive wages, and his service and his entering into the holiness is for the sake of wages. And therefore, since he chooses wages and craves the wages — through this he could come to transgress His will, blessed be He, to enter beyond his boundary, because of the desire for the wondrous reward. For the aspect of entering the Pardais — that itself is the reward. It emerges that the aspect of “he peeked” is the aspect of one who serves for the sake of the reward of the World to Come — through which he could come to the aspect of “peeking,” to enter beyond his boundary, as above. And this is the aspect of the shomer sachar and the socheir, as above. But one who serves without any receiving of reward, who only wants to serve Him and do His will, blessed be He, alone — he certainly will not enter beyond what is fitting for him, and will not transgress His will, blessed be He, since he does not want anything except His will, blessed be He.