תּוֹרָה מ - אֵלֶּה מַסְעֵי

Aileh Mas'ay — "These Are the Journeys" · Opening: Numbers 33:1 · Likutay Moharan Part I, Toirah 40

All of a person's journeys and upheavals [ tiltulin ] are on account of the corruption of faith — which is the aspect of idolatry [ avodah zarah ]. For if one believed with complete faith that the Holy One, blessed be He, could provide all his needs — he would not make any journey at all. (See Likutay T'filos here for the explanation — that through proper faith and trust one would not perform any action or journey at all for the sake of livelihood.) And through the upheaval one sometimes rectifies the upheaval he caused above — as it were — (for the punishment is the rectification — as brought elsewhere). And therefore journeys atone for the blemishing of faith — and thereby rectify and sweeten the burning wrath from the world — and compassion is drawn to the world.

Also through the blemishing of faith — the aspect of idolatry — rain is withheld. And there is no satiety and no peace — and no one helps his fellow. And everyone must journey and wander from place to place for his livelihood.

Also through idolatry comes the withholding of rain. And when there is no bread — there is no Torah. And through the nullification of Torah comes exile and journeys on the roads — as it is said: "My people went into exile for lack of knowledge" [Isaiah 5:13]. [See Chovos Ha-Levavos , Gate of Trust, in the story of the ascetic who turned back from his journey — he went for the sake of livelihood — for this reason.] 📜 Translator's Summary — Toirah 40 [from the Translator] Central theme: All journeys and wanderings are rooted in deficient faith — which is the inner meaning of idolatry. Complete faith would render all physical effort for livelihood unnecessary. The suffering of journeys atones for the faith-blemish. Idolatry also causes drought, scarcity, social breakdown, exile — all expressions of the same root deficiency. The chain of consequences (§3): Idolatry → withheld rain → no bread → no Torah → exile and wandering. This is the full spiritual ecology of the exile — each link follows necessarily from the one before. The verse "My people went into exile for lack of knowledge" (Isaiah 5:13) is the pivot: lack of da'as is both the cause and the content of exile.