To the honorable students, may the Lord be upon them:
Yesterday I received the 200 copies of Pticha, and today your letter. You are all unanimous about my letters being short, while I myself wrote in detail, for it takes time because the nature of every great thing is that it takes much time to conceive.
What the rav wrote ... that he didn’t understand my letter because it is all initials, it seems that he still doesn’t know that he doesn’t know, because in truth, it is the end of the words and not their initials, for each day I wait for the Creator to finish for us, for we are not free to be rid of Him.
Concerning his comment about my writing, that it would be a wonder for them once they are rewarded with all that is written, and then they will need to receive His light through me, he wrote that he is not surprised about it whatsoever. It is because he didn’t understand my writings, as he himself admits. But how will he understand the wonder? However, I see that it is a wonder in my eyes, too, and may he be experienced and test my words.
And what he wrote concerning settling down in Israel, I agree, I, too, am in favor of enjoying ancestral merit because the covenant of the fathers has not ended and the case is important.
And what ... wrote as an interpretation to my letter, that Dror [freedom] in Gematria is Kodesh [sanctity], he should have said the opposite—that Kodesh is Dror. And concerning his writing that he wants to know when I will return to my home, I want to know if he is already ready to receive me and enjoy me, and God willing, I will let him know on my part in due time.
I also received the letter from rav ... and what he wrote except for Yaccir [will recognize] and Yakir [will cherish], that he cannot properly support, he should now that he is the center of all my letters, and if he doesn’t understand that, he won’t be able to truly understand the matters.
...It is said in RASHI, portion, Chayei Sarah [The Life of Sarah], “Sarah was a hundred years old, as twenty for punishment (to sin), (and in Baba Batrah, 58a), “Everything before Eve is as a monkey before a man.” These are only intimations, but simply put, the Chaf is replaced with a Kof because they are from the same pronunciation, GICHAK, hence “Ephraim, my darling son,” can be interpreted that the son cherishes the father or the son recognizes [knows] the father, for they are truly one utterance: the one who cherishes recognizes, and the one who recognizes cherishes, with out any difference.
There is a clear sign given in the name of the Baal Shem Tov by which to know how much the Creator is playing with a person—to see in one’s own heart how much he is playing with the Creator. So are all the matters, as in “The Lord is your shade.” This is why one who still feels some difference between cherishing and knowing requires the unification of the heart, as from the perspective of the Creator they are both one.
This is a very deep matter, that the Creator is truly in the heart of everyone from Israel. But this is on His part, so what does man need? Only to know it—the knowing changes, and the knowing finishes. This is the meaning of “The Lord is your shade.”
And what he asked—which one is first, the disclosure of Elijah or the resurrection of the dead, or do both come at once, it is not the same for all and there are several degrees in it. It requires much elaboration to explain and there is nothing more to add here.
Rav ... did well ... but it seems that you, too, did not read the pamphlet as attentively as you should have, for you cannot show them that all my words are present in Tree of Life, and I did not add a single word, other than writing explicitly that Malchut in every place is the will to receive, which is already accepted from the writings of the ARI in general, without any need to reference it accurately. It is presented explicitly in The Zohar and in the Tikkunim, and besides that there is no change of wording.
His comparing my book to The King’s Valley, I saw it for the first time here, and last week I wrote from it. However, all the foundations of this book are renewed and arranged by the Kabbalah of the Geonim [genius], which begin with Tzimtzum Aleph [first restriction], followed by the world of Malchut, then Avir Kadmon, then Tehiru, and then Atzilut. However, he fills those matters with orders of the ARI ... which are truly not similar because the ARI spoke of nothing more than a line and Tzimtzum, and only then AK and Akudim, Nekudim, and Atzilut, as is presented in Eight Gates and in all the writings of the ARI.
The studies of the Atzilut that are attributed to the ARI are not at all from the ARI but from some abbreviation from the book, The King’s Valley, itself. This is why Kabbalists who follow the ARI didn’t like this book.
I wrote you that first you should study the pamphlet until you can say to anyone and show their ignorance because you’ll be able to truly find every thing in Tree of Life and in Eight Gates, especially if you look in Branch 3 and Branches 4 and 5 in Panim Meirot. Branch 3 explains the Ohr Hozer [Reflected Light], Branch 4—the four Behinot of Ohr Yashar [Direct Light], and Branches 5 and 6 explain the Hizdakchut [cleansing/purification] of the Masach by which the Histaklut [looking] of Ohr Hozer is done, and you can prove to anyone who must listen to what he is saying. If you do so, you will certainly prove that you are right.
The book My Desire Is in the Lord by Rav Chaim Vital was found among my books tied together to the Kabbalah book by Hacham Mas’ud, who gave it to me as a gift. I need it very much, so I ask that to have it sent to me as soon as possible.
Yehuda Leib