Likutei Halakhot, Orach Chaim, Laws of Morning Conduct 1:12:4-8

וְזֶה בְּחִינַת אַרְבַּע פָּרָשִׁיּוֹת. THE ARBA PARASHIYOT
Thus far, Reb Noson has discussed the deeper meaning of rising in the morning, of getting dressed, of donning tzitzit and tefillin, and of reciting the morning blessings. We have seen how each of these acts relates to judging oneself favorably, finding one’s good points, and waking up spiritually. Reb Noson next turns his attention to the four special Torah readings known as the Arba Parashiyot—Parashat Shekalim, Parashat Zakhor, Parashat Parah, and Parashat HaChodesh. These readings too have as their underlying theme the concept of waking up from spiritual slumber.

This finding of the good points also relates to the Arba Parashiyot, the four special Torah passages read on four separate Shabbatot during the month of Adar.⁹⁴The Arba Parashiyot are the four Torah passages appended, as the maftir, to the weekly Shabbat Torah reading in the month of Adar (see Mishnayot, Megillah 3:4), two before the Purim holiday and two after it. Each of these special passages is explained more fully in separate notes below.

פָּרָשַׁת שְׁקָלִים – בְּחִינַת צְדָקָה, כִּי צְדָקָה זֶה בְּחִינַת (מיכה ז, כ) ״חֶסֶד לְאַבְרָהָם״, שֶׁעָשָׂה צְדָקָה וָחֶסֶד עִם כָּל הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה יְכוֹלִין לִמְצֹא הַנְּקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת כַּנַּ״ל. On the first Shabbat we read Parashat Shekalim, which speaks of the half-shekel contribution to the Mishkan, corresponding to the concept of tzedakah.⁹⁵Parashat Shekalim (Shemot 30:11-16) is read on the first Shabbat of Adar (or on the preceding Shabbat if that is the day the congregation blesses the new moon). Taken from the Torah portion of Ki Tisa, it recalls the census of the Jewish people taken after their redemption from Egypt. Because the Torah forbids counting the Jews in the normal manner, each adult male was required to donate a half-shekel (the common currency of the time) for the construction and maintenance of the Mishkan. The coins were then counted instead of the people. Nowadays, we read Parashat Shekalim in commemoration of that earlier obligation. Parashat Shekalim thus alludes to finding one’s good points, because tzedakah is a component of chesed, as indicated by the verse “chesed to Avraham.” For Avraham performed tzedakah and chesed with the entire world, through which it is possible to find the good points in everyone, as we have already seen.⁹⁶See §5 above.

וזְֶה בְּחִינַת (ישעיה מא, ב): ״צֶדֶק יִקְרָאֵהוּ לְרַגְלוֹ״, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי צְדָקָה יְכוֹלִין לִקְרֹא אֶת הַטּוֹב שֶׁנּוֹפֵל בַּמַּדְרֵגָה הַתַּחְתּוֹנָה, בִּבְחִינַת רַגְלִין, בִּבְחִינַת (רות ג, ז): ״וַתְּגַל מַרְגְּלוֹתָיו וַתִּשְׁכָּב״. וְכֵן מְרֻמָּז בְּדִבְרֵי רַבֵּנוּ זַ״ל בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר (לקוטי מוהר״ן חלק א׳ סימן יז): שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי צְדָקָה מְעוֹרְרִין הַטּוֹב שֶׁנֶּעֱלָם וְנִסְתָּר בִּמְקוֹמוֹת הָרְחוֹקִים מֵהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ. This connection between tzedakah and finding the good points is indicated in the verse about Avraham, who “would call tzedek to his foot.” This teaches that through tzedakah we can call forth the good that falls to the lowest level, which is represented by the feet.⁹⁷See Sanhedrin 108b, that this refers to Avraham, who rejected idolatry while he was in Aram (the East). In LM I, 67:5, Rebbe Nachman associates this verse with tzedakah. The Rebbe teaches that giving tzedakah elevates HaShem’s glory/Malkhut and rescues it from a descent into the realm of unholiness, in the mystery of “Her feet descend to death” (Mishlei 5:5). TZeDeK uncompromising justice, is transformed through ,(צדק) an act of kindness that calls forth the ,(צדקה) tZeDaKah “feet” and raises them up from the aspect of “Her feet descend.” This is also alluded to in the verse regarding Ruth’s act of chesed, when “she uncovered his feet and lay down.”⁹⁸Kabbalistically, “she” refers here to Malkhut, whose lower aspects descend to the realm of unholiness, as indicated in the previous note. Reb Noson reads the verse as an allusion to the concealment of a person’s good points throughout the night, “until the morning,” when, as taught above (see §5), they are revealed through an act of chesed, such as giving tzedakah. This is the reason Boaz refers to Ruth’s action specifically as an act of chesed (see verse 10 there). This is likewise hinted to elsewhere in the Rebbe’s words, where he teaches that by giving tzedakah we awaken the good that has become concealed and hidden in places that seem to be most distant from HaShem.⁹⁹See LM I, 17:5.

וזְֶה בְּחִינַת (זהר חקת קפ:): ״פָּרָה אֲדֻמָּה תְמִימָה״. ״אֲדֻמָּה – דָּא דִּינָא קַשְׁיָא. תְּמִימָה – דָּא דִּינָא רַפְיָא״, דְּהַיְנוּ כְּשֶׁהוּא בִּבְחִינַת דִּינָא קַשְׁיָא, שֶׁמִּתְגַּבֵּר הָרָע, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, שֶׁזֶּה בְּחִינַת דִּינָא קַשְׁיָא, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, אֲזַי צָרִיךְ לְרַפּוֹת הַדִּין עַל־יְדֵי שֶׁמּוֹצֵא בְּעַצְמוֹ אֵיזֶה נְקֻדָּה טוֹבָה עֲדַיִן. This also relates to the Zohar’s teaching that the underlying theme of the mitzvah of the red cow is the extraction of good from evil. Commenting on the requirement stated in Parashat Parah that it be “a perfectly red cow,” the Zohar explains that “red” connotes dina kashya, hard judgment, whereas “perfectly” connotes dina rafya, soft judgment.¹⁰³Zohar III, 180b. “Hard” and “soft” in this context refers to the severity of the din and the degree to which it conceals Godliness. Through the red cow we temper and mitigate the harshness of judgment. In other words, when a person is beset by dina kashya, evil becomes dominant, chas ve-shalom. In that state of hard judgment, he feels distant and disconnected from HaShem, and so must temper the din by finding in himself some good point that he still possesses.

וזְֶה בְּחִינַת (במדבר יט, ב): ״אֲשֶׁר אֵין בָּהּ מוּם, אֲשֶׁר לֹא עָלָה עָלֶיהָ עֹל״, כִּי הַנְּקֻדָּה טוֹבָה הִיא בְּחִינַת יוֹנָה תַּמָּה שֶׁאֵין בָּהּ שׁוּם מוּם, כִּי הִיא נָאָה וְיָפָה, בְּחִינַת ״שְׁחוֹרָה אֲנִי וְנָאוָה וְכוּ׳״, כַּנַּ״ל. This is the meaning of the Torah’s statement that the red cow must be perfect, an animal “that has no blemish, upon which no yoke has been laid.” Conceptually, a person’s good point is like “a perfect dove.”¹⁰⁴See §7 above. It is free of any blemish, for it is beautiful and attractive, as in “I am black but pleasing.”

וזְֶה בְּחִינַת (פיוט לפרשת פרה) :״מְטַהֵר טְמֵאִים וּמְטַמֵּא טְהוֹרִים״, כִּי זֹאת הַבְּחִינָה מַה שֶּׁדָּן אֶת עַצְמוֹ לְכַף זְכוּת וּמוֹצֵא בְּעַצְמוֹ נְקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת, זֹאת הַבְּחִינָה מְטַהֶרֶת טְמֵאִים וּמְטַמֵּא טְהוֹרִים. כִּי מִי שֶׁהוּא בַּמַּדְרֵגָה הַתַּחְתּוֹנָה – צָרִיךְ דַּוְקָא לִמְצֹא זְכוּת בְּעַצְמוֹ כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹּא יִפּוֹל לְגַמְרֵי, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, וְעִקַּר טָהֳרָתוֹ וּתְשׁוּבָתוֹ עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה דַּיְקָא כַּנַּ״ל. This finding of the good points also relates to another essential feature of the red cow. On the Shabbat that Parashat Parah is read, a refrain in the yotzrot states that the ashes of the red cow “would purify the contaminated and contaminate the pure.”¹⁰⁵On each Shabbat that one of the Arba Parashiyot is read, we recite a selection of piyutim based on the theme of the day, known as yotzrot, during the repetition of the Shemoneh Esrei. This particular refrain in the yotzrot for Parashat Parah is based on Midrash Tehillim 9:1. This is analogous to a person judging himself favorably and finding the good points he has inside himself, which is similarly the idea of purifying the contaminated and contaminating the pure. For whoever is on a low spiritual level especially needs to find some personal merit so that he does not fall entirely, chas ve-shalom. His main purification and teshuvah is precisely through this.

אֲבָל מִי שֶׁהוּא טָהוֹר, כְּשֶׁיַּחֲזִיק עַצְמוֹ בְּמַדְרֵגַת הַטּוֹב – בְּוַדַּאי נִפְגַּם עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה, כִּי יִפּוֹל לְגַדְלוּת, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זַ״ל (נדה ל:): ״אֲפִלּוּ כָּל הָעוֹלָם כֻּלּוֹ אוֹמְרִים לְךָ צַדִּיק אַתָּה הֱיֵה בְּעֵינֶיךָ כְּרָשָׁע״. Conversely, when someone who is pure feels confident of his piety, his cocksureness will surely “contaminate” and harm him, because he will succumb to pride, chas ve-shalom. Chazal address this in their teaching: “Even if the entire world says to you, ‘You are righteous,’ you should see yourself as if you are wicked.”¹⁰⁶Niddah 30b.

עַל־כֵּן אָמְרוּ: ״כְּרָשָׁע״, וְלֹא רָשָׁע גָּמוּר, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, כִּי אָסוּר לְהַחֲזִיק עַצְמוֹ לְרָשָׁע גָּמוּר, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, רַק אַדְּרַבָּא! כְּשֶׁנִּדְמֶה לוֹ שֶׁהוּא רָשָׁע גָּמוּר, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, וַאֲפִלּוּ אִם הָאֱמֶת הוּא כַּךְ, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, אַף־עַל־פִּי־כֵן צָרִיךְ לְחַפֵּשׂ וּלְבַקֵּשׁ לִמְצֹא בְּעַצְמוֹ נְקֻדָּה טוֹבָה, לְבַל יִהְיֶה, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, רָשָׁע גָּמוּר כַּנַּ״ל, וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה נִטְהָר וְזוֹכֶה לִתְשׁוּבָה כַּנַּ״ל. However, this is only to keep one from becoming arrogant, not to distress him. Therefore Chazal said “as if you are wicked,” and not “as actually wicked.” For it is forbidden to consider oneself as genuinely wicked, chas ve-shalom. Just the opposite is required! If a person sees himself as completely wicked, and even if it is true, chas ve-shalom, he must nevertheless seek and search to find inside himself a good point, on account of which he is not completely wicked. This one good point will itself bring him purity and he will merit doing teshuvah, as explained above.

וְזֶה בְּחִינַת ״מְטַהֵר טְמֵאִים וּמְטַמֵּא טְהוֹרִים״ כַּנַּ״ל. Thus finding this good in oneself and in others parallels the red cow. For a person on a low spiritual level, finding the good point “purifies the contaminated.” But for a person on a high spiritual level, if finding the good point leads to pride, it “contaminates the pure.”

וְאַחַר־כָּךְ קוֹרִין פָּרָשַׁת הַחֹדֶשׁ, כִּי זֶה בְּחִינַת קִדּוּשׁ הַחֹדֶשׁ, בְּחִינַת מִלּוּי הַלְּבָנָה מִפְּגִימָתָהּ. After that, on the fourth Shabbat we read Parashat HaChodesh.¹⁰⁷Parashat HaChodesh (Shemot 12:1-20) is read on the Shabbat preceding the month of Nisan. Beginning with the words “This month shall be for you the head of the months,” it recounts HaShem’s revelation to Moshe on the first day of Nisan, two weeks before the Exodus, regarding the establishment of the Jewish (lunar) calendar based on the first sighting of the new moon. Each month, the new moon first appears in the sky as no more than a small point of light. Prior to the fixing of the Jewish calendar (circa 358 C.E.), a new month was deemed to have begun only after the Sanhedrin, based on the testimony of two reliable witnesses who had seen the new moon itself (Rosh HaShanah 24a), declared it sanctified (Kiddush HaChodesh). Today, we give thanks for the reappearance of the moon by reciting the Kiddush Levanah blessing. This passage pertains to Kiddush HaChodesh, the sanctification of the new month, which conceptually relates to the role of the good point in restoring the moon from its blemish of diminishment.¹⁰⁸Kabbalah identifies the moon with the sefirah of Malkhut. Thus the moon’s waning during the second half of each month represents Malkhut in a diminished state, a state of exile. This is the deeper meaning of Chazal’s teaching that HaShem reduced the moon and diminished its light, its “blemish” being the origin of all sin and suffering in the world. And HaShem tasked the Jewish people with restoring and redeeming the moon—effecting the tikkun of Malkhut—through their service of Him. Most directly, we restore Malkhut to wholeness through the Kiddush Levanah blessing. Reb Noson writes: With the beginning of each new month, each time we recite the Kiddush Levanah blessing, as well as through all the other devotions the tzaddikim and others perform for the moon’s benefit, the moon undergoes further spiritual rectification. In the future, the entire world will recognize that the moon waxes to completion on account of the holiness of the tzaddikim and the Jewish people (LH, Rosh Chodesh 6:20).

כִּי זֶה יָדוּעַ, שֶׁכְּשֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל הֵם חַס וְשָׁלוֹם בְּמַדְרֵגָה פְּחוּתָה – זֶה בְּחִינַת פְּגַם הַלְּבָנָה, קִטְרוּג הַיָּרֵחַ, שֶׁמִּשָּׁם בָּאִים כָּל הַפְּגָמִים וְהַחֲטָאִים, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם. The explanation is as follows. It is known that when the Jewish people are on a low spiritual level, chas ve-shalom, it is akin to the moon in a state of blemish on account of the primordial moon’s complaint,¹⁰⁹Zohar I, 53a. since the moon’s blemish is the origin of all spiritual blemish and sin.¹¹⁰This can be deduced from LM II, 91:3, where Rebbe Nachman teaches that the waxing of the moon—i.e. the undoing of its diminishment—mitigates din and brings atonement for sin. Elsewhere, Reb Noson explains that the moon’s diminishment alludes to tzimtzum, HaShem’s constriction of His Infinite Light at the earliest stages of Creation (see Appendix A, p. 226). The Gemara’s account of the moon’s complaint and HaShem’s diminishing its light goes on to relate that, seeing He could not appease the moon, HaShem said, “Bring a (sacrificial) atonement for Me, that I diminished the moon” (Chullin 60b). HaShem, as it were, regretted the tzimtzum, as it would later manifest as the concealment of Godliness from man. This concealment is the reason for man’s lack of daat, which in turn is the cause of spiritual blemish and sin (LH, Minchah 7:34; see also Me’or Einayim, Bereishit).

וְעַל־כֵּן כְּשֶׁאִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל מִתְעוֹרֵר וּמוֹצֵא בְּעַצְמוֹ נְקֻדָּה טוֹבָה, וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה חוֹזֵר בִּתְשׁוּבָה כַּנַּ״ל – זֶה בְּחִינוֹת מִלּוּי הַלְּבָנָה מִפְּגִימָתָהּ, בְּחִינַת קִדּוּשׁ הַחֹדֶשׁ. כִּי עִקַּר קִדּוּשׁ הַחֹדֶשׁ הוּא עַל־יְדֵי בְּחִינָה הַנַּ״ל, כִּי בִּתְחִלַּת הַחדֶֹשׁ, בְּעֵת שֶׁרוֹאִין אֶת הַלְּבָנָה לְקַדֵּשׁ אוֹתָהּ בְּבֵית דִּין, אֲזַי הִיא קְטַנָּה וְדַקָּה מְאֹד מְאֹד, וַאֲזַי הִיא רַק בִּבְחִינַת נְקֻדָּה, הַיְנוּ בְּחִינַת נְקֻדָּה טוֹבָה הַנַּ״ל, שֶׁהִיא בְּחִינַת ״שְׁחֹרָה אֲנִי וְנָאוָה וְכוּ׳״, כַּנַּ״ל. Reb Noson now clarifies how our sanctifying the new moon rectifies the moon’s blemish.

Therefore when a Jew on a low spiritual level wakes up and finds a good point inside himself, and through this returns to HaShem, it is akin to the restoration of the moon from its blemish, the concept of Kiddush HaChodesh. This is so because Kiddush HaChodesh is essentially this idea of looking for and finding the good point concealed by the darkness. For at the very beginning of the month, when we look for the moon in order to sanctify it in beit din,¹¹¹This refers to the Sanhedrin. the moon is then extremely small and thin, merely a point in the nighttime sky. This point corresponds to the good point, which says about itself, “I am black but pleasing.”

הַיְנוּ כְּשֶׁהַלְּבָנָה הִיא בְּתַכְלִית הַמִּעוּט בְּסוֹף הַחֹדֶשׁ אֲזַי צְרִיכִין כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל לְחַפְּשָׁהּ וּלְבַקְּשָׁהּ, עַד שֶׁמּוֹצְאִין עֵדֵי רְאִיָּה אֵיזֶה נְקֻדָּה קְטַנָּה מֵהַלְּבָנָה, וַאֲזַי מְקַדְּשִׁין אֶת הַחֹדֶשׁ בְּבֵית דִּין, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת תִּקּוּן וּמִלּוּי הַלְּבָנָה, כִּי עַל־יְדֵי בְּחִינַת הַנְּקֻדָּה לְבַד, בְּחִינַת נְקֻדָּה טוֹבָה שֶׁזּוֹכִין לִמְצֹא בְּתַכְלִית הַמִּעוּט, עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה נִתְתַּקְּנִין וְנִכְנָסִין בֶּאֱמֶת לְכַף זְכוּת וְכוּ׳ כַּנַּ״ל, שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת תִּקּוּן וּמִלּוּי הַלְּבָנָה מִפְּגִימָתָהּ וְכוּ׳ כַּנַּ״ל. This means that when the moon is at its absolute smallest at the end of each month, all Jews must then seek and search for it until eyewitnesses can testify to having found some speck of the light of the moon. By virtue of this small point they then sanctify the new month in beit din. Sanctifying even just a tiny bit of the moon’s light elevates it; it rectifies and restores the moon. For when we rejoice over just a mere speck of the light—namely that good point that we merit to find despite its being infinitesimally small and concealed in darkness—we ourselves are rectified and genuinely become deserving of merit through this. Conceptually, this is the rectification and restoration of the moon from its blemish.

וְעַל־כֵּן אוֹמְרִים הַבֵּית דִּין וְכָל יִשְׂרָאֵל: ״מְקֻדָּשׁ מְקֻדָּשׁ״ (ראש השנה כד.), כִּי עַל־יְדֵי הַנְּקֻדָּה לְבַד נִתְקַדְּשִׁין וְכוּ׳ כַּנַּ״ל, עַל־יְדֵי שֶׁדָּנִים לְכַף זְכוּת. Therefore, after receiving the witnesses’ testimony, the head judge of the beit din and all the people present there say, “Sanctified! Sanctified!”¹¹²Rosh HaShanah 24a. From this we see that by judging favorably, even a single point is sufficient to instill sanctity.

וְזֶה בְּחִינַת שֶׁכֻּלָּם אוֹמְרִים ״מְקֻדָּשׁ מְקֻדָּשׁ״, דְּהַיְנוּ שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי דִּבְרֵיהֶם מַעֲלִין אֶת הַלְּבָנָה מִבְּחִינַת פְּגָם וּמִעוּט לִבְחִינַת תִּקוּן וּמִלּוּי, שֶׁזֶּהוּ קְדֻשָּׁתָהּ, עַל־יְדֵי הַנְּקֻדַּת אוֹר לְבַד שֶׁרָאוּ מֵהַלְּבָנָה. This is also the idea that all say, “Sanctified! Sanctified!”—meaning that through their words, i.e. by elevating the good points to the dimension of dibbur, they elevate the moon from a state of blemish and diminishment.¹¹³This is the principle taught above (see §7), that the good reaches its highest level when raised to the dimension of dibbur. Their words bring the moon to a state of tikkun and wholeness, which is its sanctification. And all of this was brought about by a mere single point of light that they sighted from the emerging moon.

וְזֶהוּ בְּעַצְמוֹ בְּחִינָה הַנַּ״ל. כִּי עַל־יְדֵי קִטְרוּג הַיָּרֵחַ נִתְמַעֲטָה, וְאָז נָתַן לָהּ הַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ אֶת הַכּוֹכָבִים לְהָפִיס דַּעְתָּהּ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זַ״ל (בראשית רבה ו, ד), וּמוּבָא בְּפֵרוּשׁ רַשִׁ״י (בראשית א, טז). כִּי הַכּוֹכָבִים מְרַמְּזִין עַל בְּחִינַת הַנְּקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת שֶׁנִּמְצָאִין בְּכָל אֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁעַל יָדָם נִכְנָסִין לְכַף זְכוּת בֶּאֱמֶת, עַל־יְדֵי שֶׁדָּנִים אוֹתָם לְכַף זְכוּת כַּנַּ״ל. After explaining the moon’s waning as its blemish and the moon’s waxing as its tikkun, Reb Noson adds that the stars that HaShem created to appease the moon are the good points that assist the moon in returning to wholeness.

So we see that this idea of the moon’s completion itself expresses the concept of the good points effecting tikkun. This should be clear to us because we know that although the moon was diminished on account of its complaint, HaShem then gave it the stars in order to conciliate it, as Chazal teach and Rashi brings in his commentary.¹¹⁴See Rashi on Bereishit 1:16; based also on Chullin 60b and Bereishit Rabbah 6:4, as cited above. The stars, as points of light, actually hint to the aspect of the good points that are found inside every Jew, through which people genuinely move to a position of merit by being judged favorably.

בִּבְחִינַת (דניאל יב, ג): ״וּמַצְדִּיקֵי הָרַבִּים כַּכּוֹכָבִים וְכוּ׳״. ״מַצְדִּיקֵי הָרַבִּים״, הַיְנוּ צַדִּיקֵי הַדּוֹר שֶׁדָּנִים אֶת הַכֹּל לְכַף זְכוּת, וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה נִכְנָסִין אֲפִלּוּ פּוֹשְׁעֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בֶּאֱמֶת לְכַף זְכוּת כַּנַּ״ל. וְזֶהוּ בְּחִינַת כּוֹכָבִים, בְּחִינַת ״וּמַצְדִּיקֵי הָרַבִּים כַּכּוֹכָבִים״ כַּנַּ״ל, כִּי הַכּוֹכָבִים הֵם בִּבְחִינַת נְקֻדּוֹת. This is the explanation of “and those who matzdik the masses [will shine] like the stars.” Interpreted homiletically, “those who matzdik” refers to the tzaddikim of the generation.¹¹⁵See Tikkuney Zohar #1, p. 1b, that the world since he ,(צדיק) exists in the merit of the tZaDIK justifies) its existence by increasing ,מצדיק) matZDIK righteousness. They find the good in all people and judge everyone favorably, so that even the sinners among the Jewish people genuinely move to a position of merit. This good corresponds to the stars, as in “those who matzdik the masses [will shine] like the stars,” since the stars resemble points of light. Their appearance in the nighttime sky dispels darkness, much as the good points revealed by the tzaddikim dispel the darkness in a Jewish sinner.

כִּי זֶה הַפָּסוּק ״וּמַצְדִּיקֵי הָרַבִּים״ מְדַבֵּר שָׁם בְּסוֹף דָּנִיאֵל לָעִנְיָן הַנַּ״ל, כַּמְבֹאָר שָׁם (יב, י): ״יִתְבָּרְרוּ וְיִתְלַבְּנוּ וִיצָרְפוּ רַבִּים וְהִרְשִׁיעוּ רְשָׁעִים וְכוּ׳, וְהַמַּשְׂכִּילִים יַזְהִירוּ כְּזֹהַר הָרָקִיעַ, וּמַצְדִּיקֵי הָרַבִּים כַּכּוֹכָבִים וְכוּ׳״. הַיְנוּ שֶׁבְּעִקְּבוֹת מְשִׁיחָא בְּסוֹף הַקֵּץ, שֶׁאָז יִתְגַּבֵּר, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, הַסִּטְרָא אַחֲרָא, כַּיָּדוּעַ, וְאָז יִהְיֶה גֹּדֶל הַבֵּרוּר וְהַצֵּרוּף, בְּחִינַת ״יִתְבָּרְרוּ וְיִתְלַבְּנוּ וִיצָרְפוּ רַבִּים וְכוּ׳״. Thus this verse at the end of the Book of Daniel, “and those who matzdik the masses,” addresses the aforementioned subject of tzaddikim engaging in beirur, spiritual refinement. As explained there, the angel of HaShem spoke to Daniel about the spirit of unbelief that would sweep over the world in the days preceding the coming of Mashiach. “Many will spiritually refine and cleanse themselves, and they will be purified. The wicked will act wickedly … But the wise will shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who matzdik the masses [will shine] like the stars.” In other words, in the pre-messianic era at the end of days, the forces of impurity of the Sitra Achra will become overpowering, chas ve-shalom. Great will be the beirur and purification that will take place then, as indicated by the angel’s words to Daniel, “Many yitbareru and cleanse themselves, and they will be purified.” But many others will be in danger of falling away.¹¹⁶See Rebbe Nachman’s Wisdom #35, where Rebbe Nachman states, “Great atheism is coming to the world.” He continues: There will be great temptations before Mashiach’s coming, when “many will refine and cleanse themselves, and they will be purified” in faith. Fortunate indeed is the person who resists these temptations and remains firm in his belief. He will be worthy of all the good promised to us by the prophets and sages of old. See also ibid. #230.

וַאֲזַי יִהְיֶה עִקַּר הַתִּקּוּן עַל־יְדֵי בְּחִינָה הַנַּ״ל, עַל־יְדֵי ״מַצְדִּיקֵי הָרַבִּים״, הַיְנוּ עַל־יְדֵי הַצַּדִּיקִים שֶׁיָּדוּנוּ אֶת הַכֹּל לְכַף זְכוּת, וְיִמְצְאוּ נְקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת אֲפִלּוּ בְּהַפְּחוּתִים מְאֹד מְאֹד, שֶׁזֶּהוּ עִקַּר עֲבוֹדַת הַצַּדִּיקִים, וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה דַּיְקָא יָבֹא מָשִׁיחַ, בִּמְהֵרָה בְּיָמֵינוּ. כִּי זֶה בְּחִינַת מָשִׁיחַ וְכוּ׳ כַּנַּ״ל. וְזֶהוּ ״וְהַמַּשְׂכִּילִים יַזְהִירוּ וְכוּ׳ וּמַצְדִּיקֵי הָרַבִּים כַּכּוֹכָבִים וְכוּ׳״, כִּי עִקַּר הַתִּקוּן וְהַגְּאֻלָּה בַּקֵּץ הָאַחֲרוֹן יִהְיֶה עַל־יְדֵי בְּחִינָה זוֹ, עַל־יְדֵי בְּחִינַת הַנְּקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת הַנַּ״ל, שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת כּוֹכָבִים וְכוּ׳ כַּנַּ״ל. And so the main tikkun at that time will come about through the aforementioned concept of finding the good through “those who matzdik the masses,” namely the tzaddikim. They will judge everyone favorably and find good points even in the least worthy, this being the primary spiritual work of the tzaddikim. And since judging favorably and finding the good in every Jew is the foremost task of Mashiach,¹¹⁷See §8 and note 60 above. it will be precisely this that will hasten Mashiach’s coming, may it happen soon in our days. For this is the concept of Mashiach, who, as noted above, is the essence of good and the bringer of redemption. And it is also the import of “But the wise will shine … and those who matzdik the masses [will shine] like the stars,” because the main tikkun and the redemption at the end of days will come about through the good points, which are the shining stars, as explained above.

וזְֶהוּ בְּחִינַת (תהלים קמח, ג): ״הַלְלוּהוּ כָּל כּוֹכְבֵי אוֹר״, כִּי עַל־יְדֵי הַנְּקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת, שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת כּוֹכָבִים הַמְּאִירִים, עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה יְכוֹלִין לְהוֹדוֹת וּלְהַלֵּל לַה׳, בִּבְחִינַת ״אֲזַמְּרָה לֵאלֹהַי בְּעוֹדִי״, כַּנַּ״ל. This is also the significance of David HaMelekh’s words in Tehillim, “Praise Him, all stars of light.” For the good points, which are the stars that shine, enable us to thank and praise HaShem, as in “I will sing to my God with what I still have left.” On account of the “little bit,” which is my good point, I will be able to sing praises to Him.

וְזֶהוּ בְּחִינָה שֶׁנָּתַן לְהַלְּבָנָה אֶת הַכּוֹכָבִים לְהָפִיס דַּעְתָּהּ, כִּי עַל־יְדֵי בְּחִינַת הַכּוֹכָבִים, שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת הַנְּקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת כַּנַּ״ל, עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה נִתְתַּקֵּן פְּגַם הַלְּבָנָה, כַּנַּ״ל. And this is the reason HaShem gave the stars to the moon, to conciliate it. For HaShem was assuring the moon that through the stars—which conceptually are the good points, that is, the light of Godliness inside every Jew—the moon’s blemish is rectified.

וְזֶהוּ בְּחִינַת קִימַת חֲצוֹת, שֶׁצְּרִיכִין לְשַׁבֵּר תֹּקֶף הַשֵּׁנָה עַל־יְדֵי הַנְּקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת הַנַּ״ל, בִּבְחִינַת (שם נז, ט) ״עוּרָה כְבוֹדִי עוּרָה הַנֵּבֶל וְכִנּוֹר וְכוּ׳״. וְזֶה בְּחִינַת כִּנּוֹר שֶׁל דָּוִד שֶׁהָיָה מְנַגֵּן עַל־יְדֵי רוּחַ צָפוֹן (ברכות ג.), בְּחִינַת רוּחַ טוֹבָה, נְקֻדָּה טוֹבָה הַצָּפוּן וְטָמִיר אֲפִלּוּ בְּתַכְלִית הַשֵּׁנָה, אֲפִלּוּ בְּמַדְרֵגָה פְּחוּתָה, בִּבְחִינַת (תהלים לא, כ): ״מָה רַב טוּבְךָ אֲשֶׁר צָפַנְתָּ״, וְאֵלּוּ הַנְּקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת מְנַשְּׁבִין בַּכִּנּוֹר שֶׁל דָּוִד, כִּי עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה נַעֲשִׂין נִגּוּנִים כַּנַּ״ל, וְעַל־כֵּן הָיָה מְנַגֵּן מֵאֵלָיו עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה כַּנַּ״ל. וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה מִתְעוֹרְרִין מֵהַשֵּׁנָה בַּחֲצוֹת הַלַּיְלָה, בְּתֹקֶף הַשֵּׁנָה וְכוּ׳, כַּנַּ״ל. RISING AT MIDNIGHT
This finding of one’s good points and waking up spiritually also relates to rising at midnight. Rising at chatzot symbolically means that we must break the deepest sleep by arousing the good points, as in “Awake, my soul! Awake the harp and lyre!”¹¹⁹See §3 and §5 above, that a person’s good point is analogous to the dawn. This refers to David HaMelekh’s harp, which, as Chazal teach, was played by ruach tzafon, the north wind. Ruach tzafon—synonymous with ruach tovah, the good spirit¹²⁰In LM I, 54:7, Rebbe Nachman explains that the good wind” or “good spirit”) “ ,רוח טובה) ruach tovah רוח) refers to the spirit of prophecy, or ruach hakodesh Divine inspiration). He links this ruach to music ,הקדוש and melody, teaching that in order to be “skilled at playing” one must know how to find and gather the components of the ruach one by one in order to build the tune, the joy. This good ruach, of prophecy, is the opposite of the ruach of gloom and despair (see note 4 above). See LH, Rosh Chodesh 3:6, where Reb Noson writes that “north” signifies the great good that is concealed in the deepest hiddenness. The north wind blows precisely at midnight because that is when the concealed good is revealed.—is the good point that is tzafun (concealed) and hidden even in the deepest sleep, even in someone on the lowest spiritual level.¹²¹In LM I, 8:2, Rebbe Nachman paraphrases the teaching of the Tikkuney Zohar (#69, p. 106b) that links the north wind with the spirit concealed inside man. which blew —(רוח צפוֹן) He teaches: The ruach tZaFoN upon David HaMelekh’s harp, as in “the ruach of God hovering” (see §8 above)—corresponds to the ruach the concealed spirit in man’s ,(רוח הצפוּן) ha-tZaFuN heart, which is the ruach of life. An example of good being concealed is expressed in the verse “How great is Your good that tzafanta.”¹²²We have already seen (§2 above) that this “great good” is the Godliness, the good points, implanted within every Jew. These good points blow upon David’s harp, separating out the good wind from the winds of gloom and despair, since it is through this that melodies are made. This is why, as Chazal teach, the harp played of itself—that is, by dint of this north wind, the beirur of the good points. Thus through its melodies we wake up at midnight from the deepest sleep and slumber to recite Tikkun Chatzot and engage in Torah study.

וְזֶה בְּחִינוֹת יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בְּפָּרָשַׁת (שמות יב, ב): ״הַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה לָכֶם וְכוּ׳״, כִּי פָּרָשַׁת הַחֹדֶשׁ, הַיְנוּ קִדּוּשׁ הַחֹדֶשׁ, הִיא מִצְוָה רִאשׁוֹנָה שֶׁנִּצְטַוּוּ בָּהּ יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּעֵת יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם, כִּי עִקַּר הַגְּאֻלָּה שֶׁל יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם הָיָה עַל־יְדֵי בְּחִינָה הַנַּ״ל, בִּבְחִינַת (יחזקאל טז, ו): ״וָאֶעֱבוֹר עָלַיִךְ וָאֶרְאֵךְ מִתְבּוֹסֶסֶת בְּדָמַיִךְ״, הַיְנוּ שֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל הָיוּ מְלֻכְלָכִים, כִּי הָיוּ בִּבְחִינַת אַרְבָּעִים וְתִשְׁעָה שַׁעֲרֵי טֻמְאָה, כַּיָּדוּעַ. וְהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ רִחֵם עֲלֵיהֶם וּמָצָא בָּהֶם נְקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת אֲפִלּוּ בְּתֹקֶף טֻמְאַת מִצְרָיִם שֶׁהִתְגַּבְּרָה עֲלֵיהֶם. REDEMPTION
Reb Noson now returns to his discussion of Parashat HaChodesh, which, as we have seen, speaks of the tikkun of the moon. Parashat HaChodesh, which is read on Shabbat two weeks before Pesach, also references the redemption from Egypt. We will next see that Jewish redemption—whether from Egypt in the past or when we will be gathered in from among the nations in the future—is dependent on finding the good points. In this it resembles the tikkun of the moon.

Now, being roused from the lowest levels by the good points relates to the Exodus from Egypt, as stated in the opening verse of Parashat HaChodesh, “This month is for you …”¹²³Rashi reads this verse based on the Mekhilta: “When the moon renews itself, it will be for you the beginning of the month.” As we saw earlier in this section, the beit din and the people sanctified the new moon after witnesses testified to the appearance of its crescent—i.e. a mere point of the moon. Parashat HaChodesh, namely Kiddush HaChodesh, corresponds to finding a point of light hidden in the darkness of night. This sanctification of the new month was the very first mitzvah given to the Jewish people as they departed from Egypt. For the redemption from Egypt came about mainly through the aforementioned good points, as in “I [HaShem] passed by you and saw you wallowing in your own blood.” In other words, the Jews had become sullied by sin, sunken in 49 gates, or levels, of impurity.¹²⁴Zohar Chadash, Yitro: Lamah Nizkar. See also Shnei Luchot HaBrit (Mesekhet Pesachim: Matzah Ashirah 33), which explains, as do many works of Chassidic teaching, that we count the 49 days of the omer-offering in order to rise up out of the 49 levels of impurity. Nevertheless, HaShem took pity on them and found good points in them, despite the powerful impurity of Egypt that engulfed them, and He redeemed them.

כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זַ״ל (ויקרא רבה לב, ה): ״בִּשְׁבִיל אַרְבָּעָה דְּבָרִים לְבַד נִגְאֲלוּ״, זֶה בְּחִינַת נְקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת שֶׁמָּצָא בָּהֶם הַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ אֲפִלּוּ בְּמִצְרַיִם, וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה נִגְאֲלוּ. This is as Chazal teach, “Because of four things alone the Jewish people were redeemed.”¹²⁵Vayikra Rabbah 32:5 lists the four: The Jews did not change their names, they did not change their language, they spoke no slander, and they guarded against immorality. Bamidbar Rabbah 20:22 substitutes their avoidance of slander with their loyalty and faithfulness: all the Jews, without exception, kept their plans for leaving Egypt hidden from their slavemasters. This alludes to the good points that HaShem found in them even while they were in Egypt, on account of which they were redeemed.

וְזֶהוּ: ״וָאוֹמַר לָךְ בְּדָמַיִךְ חֲיִי בְּדָמַיִךְ חֲיִי״, אֲפִלּוּ בְּתֹקֶף הַדָּמִים וְהַלִּכְלוּכִים, אַף־עַל־פִּי־כֵן – חֲיִי! כִּי גַּם שָׁם יְכוֹלִין לִמְצֹא נְקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת כַּנַּ״ל, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה נִגְאֲלוּ כַּנַּ״ל. Thus the verse concludes, “I said to you, ‘Through your blood, live! Through your blood, live!’” Even in the midst of the blood and filth—despite them—“live!” For even there it is possible to find good points, through which the Jews were redeemed in the past and will be redeemed in the future.

וְעַל־כֵּן מִצְוָה רִאשׁוֹנָה שֶׁנִּצְטַוּוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל הָיָה פָּרָשַׁת הַחֹדֶשׁ, כִּי זֶה בְּחִינַת קִדּוּשׁ הַחֹדֶשׁ עַל־יְדֵי נְקֻדָּה לְבַד כַּנַּ״ל, שֶׁזֶּה עִקַּר גְּאֻלַּת מִצְרַיִם וּגְאֻלָּה אַחֲרוֹנָה, בְּחִינַת קִבּוּץ נִדְחֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְכוּ׳ כַּנַּ״ל. Therefore the first mitzvah the Jewish people were commanded was Parashat HaChodesh, the concept of sanctifying the new month by virtue of a mere point of light. This sliver of the moon represents the little bit of good inside even the least worthy Jew. Finding this good point is the essence of the redemption from Egypt, and in the future it will be the essential catalyst for the final redemption, the ingathering of Israel’s exiled from the nations, as explained above.¹²⁶See §8 and note 62 above.

בָּרוּךְ ה׳ לְעוֹלָם אָמֵן וְאָמֵן. “Blessed is HaShem forever; amen, amen.”¹²⁷Reb Noson cites this verse from Tehillim (89:53) mostly to close a discourse. Apparently, he was intending that here as well, but then decided, perhaps at a later date, to include the following additional insights on the topic of chatzot.