2 For a man of Israel, if he needs *eitzah* [advice], then he should seek *eitzah* from young children or from the sons of the *tzadikim* [righteous ones], etc., whether in physical or spiritual matters, for there the *eitzah* is completed, and according to their mouth shall be every matter in the world, and through them the judgments are sweetened. For behold, it is known that the source of *eitzah* is in *chochmah* [wisdom], which extends and is formed through *da’as* [knowledge] and is completed through the kidneys, as it is written, “The kidneys advise” [Psalms 16:7]. For the kidneys are the vessels of procreation, to bring forth from potential to actuality. Therefore, he should seek [advice] from the *tzadik* himself or from the students of the *tzadikim*, except for students of true *tzadikim*. For a person does not seek *eitzah* unless he is in distress, that is, when he dwells in suffering and does not know what to do—if thus or if thus—and sometimes he is in a more constricted place, where he cannot turn to the right or to the left. And when he seeks *eitzah* from the *tzadik*, then the *tzadik* gives him *eitzah*, or he seeks from the sons of the *tzadikim*, for there the *eitzah* is sweetened. For the judgments are below and are called *tzimtzumim* [constrictions], and this is the place of constriction. And the *tzadik* gives him *eitzah* and draws *chesed* [kindness] to [the aspect of] “to Avraham” to the advising kidneys, and they are called the sons of the *tzadikim*, as it is written, “And all your sons are taught of Hashem” [Isaiah 54:13]. And it is said, “Hashem of Hosts has advised” [cf. Isaiah 14:27], and He sweetens the judgment for him and expands the constricted place for him, even through the sons of the *tzadikim*. And this is what is brought in the Zohar, that *chesed el* [divine kindness] is the illumination of *chochmah* [Zohar Chadash, Eicha]. That is, through the *tzadik* or the sons of the *tzadikim*, the *eitzah* is completed, and the judgment is sweetened, and they expand the constricted place for him, and he knows in which path to walk. And even if he is given *eitzah*, and afterward that *eitzah* is not good, nevertheless he should seek [again], for it is already known that the afflictions, which are great *tzimtzumim* and judgments, dwell below in the aspect of the feet, called the aspect of the earth, as it is written, “The earth is the footstool of My feet” [Isaiah 66:1]. And the afflictions are the revelation of His divinity, as it is written, “The heavens reveal his iniquity, and the earth rises against him” [Job 20:27]. And the earth is the judgment of the kingdom, which takes vengeance from him, vengeance of the *bris* [sexual purity]. And this is “The earth is the footstool of My feet”. But there are two types of sweetening of afflictions: one sweetening is before the afflictions come upon him, to sweeten the judgment so that it does not come upon him; and the second sweetening is to elevate them and receive them with joy, so that they do not go to waste. And this is if he seeks *eitzah* from the *tzadik*, and even so, the afflictions come upon him, he knows that the afflictions are from Hashem, and he accepts them and elevates them upward. And if he does not seek *eitzah* from the *tzadik*, then he may be among those about whom it is written, “The folly of man perverts his way, and his heart rages against Hashem” [Proverbs 19:3]. And the main elevation of afflictions is to receive them with great joy, and this is their sweetening, for the afflictions are a great good and very sweet after they have already passed and come upon him. For Hashem contracts His *Shechinah* [Divine Presence] within the afflictions, for Hashem loves every soul of Israel with great love and intense affection. When afflictions come upon a soul of Israel, then his soul is not pleasant to him, and it is as if the afflictions take his soul. And Hashem contracts Himself within those afflictions and gives him strength to accept the afflictions with love and affection, so that great good and a great sweet matter may come to him. And so he should think in his mind, for behold, all my afflictions are included and dependent on the vanities of the world and their times, which for now he lacks, and this is not considered anything. If he thinks in his mind the purpose of all these things—what they are and what their purpose is—especially since in those afflictions there is the revelation of His divinity, and Hashem contracts Himself within them, as above. And for the sake of His divinity, he accepts them with joy and elevates the afflictions, sweetening the judgment in the aspect of the feet. And this is like the elevation of dancing, that is, through accepting them with joy, then joy comes to his afflictions, which dwell in the feet, as it is written, “The earth is the footstool of My feet”. And when he brings joy to the afflictions, then he elevates the feet, and this is dancing, that he elevates the feet with joy. That is, even though the judgment has come, G-d forbid, he removes it. And this is the aspect of dancing, that is, that the feet hear the joy and accept [the afflictions] with joy and elevate them and dance. And then he merits the revelation of His divinity.
