Tzidkat HaTzadik
צדקת הצדיק
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This file contains merged sections from the following text versions:
-Sefaria Community Translation
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-YU Torah miTzion Beit Midrash
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-Tzidkas Hatzadik trans. Dov Frank
-https://sites.google.com/view/dovfranktranslations/
Tzidkat HaTzadik
Chapter 1
With God's Help
I have called this collection Tzidkat HaTzadiq [the righteousness of the righteous, (Ezekiel 18:20)] in the year TzDKU"T AH"B
The beginning of a person's entrance into the service of God must be rushed. As we find regarding the eating of the first Passover [sacrifice] in Egypt; it was eaten in a rush, but the Passover of subsequent generations was not [eaten in a rush]. For when one begins to cut oneself off from all desires of this world to which one is connected one must be aware of the moment wherein the desire to serve God awakens. One must rush to that moment and hurry to escape, maybe it is then possible. And then, later, one can go along moderately and slowly, like the laws of the Passover of subsequent years:
Chapter 2
“Blessings upon the head of a righteous man” (Proverbs 10:6). This is why the Talmud begins with Tractate Blessings (Berakhot), for it is the essence of everything: “Know the god of your father” (Chronicles I 28:9), and afterwards, “serve him,” for you have to know for whom you are serving. This is why a person says a blessing before each ritual act, to dedicate all of his actions to God, as the verse says, “In all your ways, know him” (Proverbs 3:6), as Maimonides wrote. This is accomplished by making the blessing, as the rabbis said the requirement [in terms of necessary age for making a blessing] is a child who knows to whom he is blessing (Bavli, Berakhot, 48a), as opposed to the rest of the mitsvot which have no requirement of knowing to whom one is making the blessing, such as phylacteries or the like. It is clear that the essence of a blessing is the knowledge of to whom the blessing is being made, and blessings were instituted for this purpose. This is the beginning of entering into Torah, as the verse says, “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God” (Psalms 111:10). Fear of God is achieved through “I have placed God before me always” (Psalms 16:8), as Rabbi Moses Isserles wrote in a comment at the beginning of Oraḥ Ḥayyim. This explains why all blessings begin with direct, second-person, address (lashon nokhaḥ), because right at the beginning of the blessing God must be present (nokhaḥ) before a person’s eyes, as if God is standing in front of and commanding him. The conclusion is in third-person, because God immediately disappears, as the verse says, “Over his nestlings he hovers” (Deuteronomy 32:11), making contact and then moving away, as is known.
Chapter 3
[C] The main [purpose] of the recitation of the Shema is accepting the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven and the yoke of Torah and the Commandments, as is taught (Berakhot 13a), and it must be done in the day and in the night - not in the morning and in the evening, but "When you lie down and when you arise," ibid., [Deut.?] 11:1 . It [the Torah] gives this time for this because the morning and the evening are changes in the world and not in the person, and it would have been enough to accept [the yokes] once for both of them, except for the changes in the person, who during the day arises and deals with his work, and must accept the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven - that all his deeds be for the sake of Heaven, as written (Eruvin 65a), we are day laborers who are like laborers who labor that all their deeds are for their master, and even shorten Grace After Meals [to return to] his labor. And at night, the time for lying down and resting, there is also a need for accepting the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, because also in lying down on his bed he must know before Whom he lies down, as is written in the note [by Rabbi Moshe Isreles] at the beginning of Orach Hayyim [in the Shulhan Arukh]. And this is a greater labor. And as I heard on this [matter] according to "And Jacob dreamed," that from dreams a person's stature is made clear, although even if he does nothing, his ideas are only "And here the Lord was standing upon him." And on this matter there are few righteous people who merited such splendor. And for this reason, they gave the additional blessing for the evening prayer, which is Hashkivenu le-Shalom.
Chapter 4
4. The first mitzvah that a man becomes obligated in when he turns 13 years old is reciting the evening Shema, which is the first one, as we have learned. It and its blessings are one command, except that the blessings correspond to the specific acts, and this is the general, corresponding to every act of waking up up or falling asleep. The Shema of Arvit is first, as the Tanna began (the Mishna) with it, setting it up like the verses do (with night before day). We may learn from a comparison of the creation of the world to the subject of accepting the yoke of Heaven's rule. At first when it is dark, one must accept the yoke of Heaven's rule, even out of darkness and foolishness and lack of experience. Then, eventually, he will uphold in the wealth and light of day the clear outlook through which the events continue.
Chapter 5
5. Although the core obligation is accepting the yoke of Heaven's rule through reciting Shema, in any case, its obligation continues eternally. The yoke must not shift off him for even one moment. As we say in liturgy, "...for the sins that we sinned before you by throwing off the yoke," and as the Baal Shem said based on the verse, "Fortunate is the person in whom God sees no wickedness." The proper time for accepting the yoke of Heaven's rule at Arvit is all of "lying down time," because all night he must bear this yoke. But the one at Shacharit is just at the beginning of "rising time" as if the blessing at the beginning of this mitzvah counts for the whole mitzvah, even if it lasts for some time. Because accepting the yoke suffices at the beginning of the activity, and after that, the sanctity of the activity continues. This is similar to the concept of specificity of purpose for a Gett, as written in the Tanya ch. 51, here too, the day that is considered the time of the activity is just at the beginning of the activity, and as is specifically written in the verse, "When you lie down," meaning, all night, because that is when people lie down. This is different from, "When you rise," which is just at the beginning of the day, because then people rise up and stand, whereas all day they walk and sit, and this is not "when you rise." This means that for the day, the general activity of accepting the yoke of Heaven's rule at the beginning of the day suffices.
Chapter 6
On the topic of complete acceptance of the yoke of Heaven (Berachot 15a). He has relieved himself, meaning from all idols of this world's mistakes, which are permissible (extra) but not done for the sake of Heaven. He washes his hands: As I have heard (from The Ishbitzer) that this is a hint to the "handwashing" of removal from attachments (of this world). But it could be said as well that it hints at washing off the tools of creation which have been sustained by those filthy things, they should be washed in the waters of knowledge and purity. And put on Tefillin, as it's written in Be'Irut Dvash, that he will be a sign for Hashem bearing on him like a servant who carries on him a sign from his master that he is his master. On his hand, it will be a sign to himself, and on his head will be a sign for all the nations of the world that they will hear my master is upon me. And recite Kriyas Shema, and receive the yoke of heaven, and the yoke of Torah and Mitzvot, and recite Shemona Esrei, [this is also a principle of the yoke of Heaven, as we find Tosafot 14 2] Because Kriyas Shema isn't to uphold Hashem Blessed be He, what is not so with Tefillah (Shemona Esrei) as Rashi Explains (berachot 25 ...) and through complete acceptance of the yoke of Heaven, it will uphold Hashem, Blessed be He. and after all of these preparations, then one can pray (Shemona Esrei).
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
A man who sits, and doesn't do a Mitzvah that he is obligated to do, it is as though he is transgressing. As I heard (from the Ishbitzer) from the precision in the language of the Mishnah in the beginning of Brachot 2, "to distance man from transgression". And this is obvious! It is like we find in Rosh Hashana 17a that a wrongdoer of Israel with their body is "a head that doesn't put on Teffilin", even though they only sat and didn't do anything.
Chapter 10
All of the foundation of ones learning should be based in the Torah, "That Hashem commanded", and this will be straightforward in his eyes (as the reason) because this is the judgment/ruling about what Hashem, Blessed be He, commanded in His Torah. And on this, it is alluded to in the first Mishnah (berachot 2a) that opens "When...?" "And the Tanna taught with a verse..." as it is explained in the Gemara. Because every Mishnah is only based in Verses, and it isn't like learning from a place of logic and contemplation. And this is similar to what I once heard (from The Ishbitzer) in agreement.
Chapter 11
We learn from the creation of the world, that in all matters, the night comes before the day, as the Talmud teaches. (Berachot 2a) For in all matters, absence precedes existence. “When I dwell in darkness”, I know that afterward “Hashem will be my light.” (Michah 7:8) Indeed, a person’s entire life is comprised of times in darkness and light, day and night, and that cycle repeats itself as a circuit, with the darkness always coming first, as the peel precedes the fruit. This is always true except in the case of kodashim [referring here to both the laws of the Beit haMikdash and to the highest state of holiness in life] wherein the night follows the day. Once one has already arrived at holiness, the day is first, like one who is already inside the fruit; from his perspective, the fruit comes before the peel.
Chapter 12
Regarding repentance, there are two approaches: [preparing for] the future, and fixing the past. This is why we require two approaches: 1. Living a life of purity in the future (regarding one’s knowledge, where Torah is the cure, and it saves from transgression for the future. This is similar to light which can return a person to the good, as stated in a midrash. (Eichah, Introduction 2) This is as our sages taught regarding repentance, “One who learned a single page, now must learn two pages.” (Vayikra Rabbah 25:1)) 2. Atonement fixing the past and correcting the sin. This is accomplished through an offering, and modeled on it via prayer or fasting and charity. We know that (Yevamot 74b) [lack of] atonement does not prevent return, for one who repents, even just via thought in his heart, is fully righteous. This stage is like terumah [referring here to both the pure tithe given to kohanim, and to an intermediate state of holiness in life], elevated from the completely mundane to become righteous on some level. But to be kodashim, one who wishes to be sanctified and become holy must also heal that which came before. The time of day to accept the yoke of Heaven is linked with terumah [in the Talmud’s statement that we recite Shema in the evening at the time when the kohanim begin to eat their terumah], because lack of atonement for the past does not prevent acceptance of the yoke of Heaven. Reciting Shema is Torah, as Rashi explains, and “to the wicked one, G-d says, why do you speak My laws?” (Psalms 50:16) [Therefore, one must achieve the level of terumah in order to recite Shema.] But immediately after one is purified for future action, he is fully righteous, and he can accept the yoke of Heaven.
Chapter 13
Time is comprised of day and night, and so is the life of man, with light and darkness, ups and downs, as it is known from the sayings of the Baal Shem in the verse "Seven times the righteous man falls and gets up." Because there are seven days in one week, and afterward, it returns to another seven-day cycle. Indeed, also in times of darkness, we need the light of the moon or the stars which are also light, as it is stated in the beginning of Pesachim, that it (night) is not complete darkness. And in your house, you need the light of a candle [it is Mitzvot. and the light is Torah, "For the LORD God is sun and shield"(Psalms 24:12) and that is Torah in the name of the heavens, and in the lucidity there is recognition of being in the name of Heavens. and this is "But may Your friends be as the sun rising" (Judges 5;31). "And those who lead the many to righteousness will be like the stars" (Daniel 12:3) that learning Torah will be revealed to the masses.] As it is explained, one's house, and in the chambers of one's heart, the light of the candle (Torah and Mitzvot) is good for searching for the leaven in the dough (one's characteristics, traits, and actions,) that is concealed in holes and cracks, this is much better done in the night, in the times of darkness, so the light of the candle will illuminate [which is not so during the day as the lamp will not illuminate anything in the daylight(Chullin 60b), that in (the beginning of Talmud Yerushalmi Pesachim) in the day even in a place of darkness, it won't illuminate as much. In times when Hashem is revealed to the entire face of the world, the little candle of Miztvot isn't important to everyone (doesn't shine as brightly.)] And with this, one is able to search for all the types of fermentations (Evil) in the cracks of his heart, until the place he is unable to reach, and what is left he must nullify in his heart. And here is the light of the sun that purifies the time of day and the completion of becoming pure comes with the setting of the sun as is stated in Brachot 2, and if purification has not yet been achieved, the sun will not set, as there is still time necessary to become pure, and on this the light of the sun is attempting to reach its purity.
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
(29) The destruction of the inner Temple is first. It is a residence, and it is enough that it be destroyed by a destruction of being without residents. And afterwards is the burning of the outer Sanctuary. And the burning is the destruction [called for there]. And afterwards is the exile of Israel. And so too the sinner begins with the heart which becomes barren of the fear of Heaven. And afterwards to the brain, for there is no fixed dwelling there. For 'a house is a woman,' who is the heart. And [the brain] is completely burnt, such that is no [longer] a place that can even occasionally contain a thought for the sake of heaven which may perhaps bring a thought of repentance to the heart. And afterwards, all the limbs of action are exiled to a place of impurity. And with repentance it is the opposite, as it is written in the Zohar (Part 1, 134b), "First [in the prayers] is 'Rebuild Jerusalem,' and afterwards, 'bring in the dispersed of Israel.'" And in the Yerushalmi on Maaser Sheni (5:5): It is since the kings of the nations of the world will rebuild the Temple. As the repair of character traits and the heart is first, and of deeds is afterwards. And it appears that the Sanctuary is before the building of the Temple. And likewise, the brain is first - like the Rambam wrote at the beginning of Chapter 2 of the Foundations of the Torah, "And how is the way, etc."
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
A person possessed by intense physical desires must not be saddened, thinking how blemished and damaged they are in having such desires, for the opposite is true: such a person is a prepared vessel for the powerful love and desire for the search for truth. So too regarding Abaye (Sukkah 52a) who was comforted by a certain Elder [who was Eliyahu according to the additional commentators in Tosefos (Yoma 6a) and I heard that this is the truth. Regarding the question which Tosefos asks on this attributation, this is not the correct place to discuss it]. Regarding this, it was stated (Sukkah 52a) "In the future, for the righteous, the evil inclination appears to them as a high mountain, and for the wicked, it appears to them as a mere strand of hair" and these do not contradict, rather both are true: to these [the righteous], their passions and desire are greater and more intense.
[Note: Thus, as their desires and passions are more intense, so is their capacity for the intense search for truth and piety.]
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
49. Each person knows that in precisely that area in which his inclination attacks him greatly, he becomes a prepared vessel in precisely those matters to be clean and purified. And in matters in which he sins greatly, he should know he is becoming a prepared vessel to be, precisely in that matter in which he sins, clean and pure of heart. Therefore, Chazal writes (Vayikra Rabbah 21) that in that limb in which a sin has been committed, there is also a mitzvah to be done in it. This Mitzva is not only to effect a rectification to the specific sin which was previously committed, measure for measure, but rather to effect a rectification of the particular soul [of the sinner], for each person is created to repair some matter which is found specifically in his own unique soul, which is not found in another's soul. So too, we find that men's faces differ, and different faces symbolize the difference in each person's unique status as created in God's image. This matter is known by that which is stated from the earlier ones, from the statement of our sages (Shabbat 118b) "In what area was your father especially vigilant?". And on this, it was said (Gittin 43a) "A person doesn't stand with his Torah unless he has stumbled in it", meaning that through his stumbling, he understands that he was specifically created to rectify that particular matter....
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Teshuva is that by repenting, a person acknowledges that everything is operated by God and that even before a thought has arisen in a person's heart, God has already given them the power to repent. As the Sages say, God gives the person the strength to turn away from sin and, through complete repentance, their sins are transformed into merits, as this was also God's will. As it is written in the Talmud (Shabbat 89b), "If your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18).
Furthermore, the Sages teach that through a wondrous act, God will transform the sins of the wicked into merits. This is similar to King David's prayer, "So that You may be justified in Your words" (Psalms 51:4). By taking away the person's inclination to sin, their sins are effectively transformed into merits, as this was also God's will.
The Sages also teach that in the future, after complete repentance, everyone will recognize the full extent of God's kingdom, and the sins that were deviations from the path of justice will be seen as acts of kindness, as they were not deviations from the true will of God.
Additionally, the Sages distinguish between two levels of righteousness in a person: the righteous and the pious. In the future, after complete repentance, the sins that were deviations from the path of justice will be seen as acts of kindness, as they were not deviations from the true will of God. The righteous and the pious are two different levels within a person, and they correspond to two different forces in the upper worlds. Although these forces are mixed within each person, they are not equal, and one may dominate the other. And there is much more to say in this matter but this is not the place.
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Chapter 127
Chapter 128
Chapter 129
Chapter 130
Chapter 131
Chapter 132
Chapter 133
Chapter 134
Chapter 135
Chapter 136
Chapter 137
Chapter 138
Chapter 139
Chapter 140
Chapter 141
Chapter 142
Chapter 143
Chapter 144
Chapter 145
Chapter 146
Chapter 147
Chapter 148
Chapter 149
Chapter 150
Chapter 151
Times of descent which occur to a person in which he doesn't have any desire for Torah and service [of God] are a preparation for a great upliftment through the cry which he cries when he sees his fallen state and descent.
Chapter 152
Chapter 153
Chapter 154
Just as person is required to believe in God, so too is he afterwards required to believe in himself. I mean to say that [one must believe] that God has dealings with him, and that he is not a creation of God which is 'only for today, etc.,' an like 'an animal of the field' that after their death are gone and no longer. Rather one must believe that God, may He be blessed, delights and revels in his doing His will. And this is the understanding of, "and they trusted/believed in the Lord and in Moshe His servant" (Exodus 14:31). The explanation [here] of Moshe, is meaning to say the grouping of the 600,000 souls of Israel in that generation; they believed that God, may He be blessed, desired them [and then automatically also Moshe, since he is totally them. And it is like they said, may their memory be blessed, (Bava Batra 121:) that the whole time that the Jewish people were ostracized (by God), the word (of God) did not reveal itself to Moshe. And it is like I have written in another place, that in all the sins that the Jewish people committed, Moshe also committed them, since he is their aggregate: Like with the golden calf, Moshe's sin was with the breaking of the tablets. And this is really a very curious and strange thing: Even to tear a Torah scroll in one's anger and to throw it to the ground, the work of a plain scribe, all the more so tablets that were the work of God! And that is exactly the sin of the calf, as I have written in another place. And when he was told (by God), "Congratulations on your breaking, etc.," he knew that it was also such with the Children of Israel, like it is written in Avodah Zarah (5a), "Come and let us appreciate the good of of our forefathers, etc." And with the graves of desire, he (sinned when he) said, "If the flocks and the cattle would (all) be slaughtered" (Numbers 11:22) And so too at the Waters of Meribah. And likewise with the spies, his sin was the sending, as it is written, "'Send for you' - according to your opinion." But here is not the place to write all of them.] They further believed that He wanted and was gratified by the good side within them.
Chapter 155
Chapter 156
Chapter 157
Chapter 158
Chapter 159
Chapter 160
Chapter 161
Chapter 162
Chapter 163
Chapter 164
Chapter 165
Chapter 166
Chapter 167
Chapter 168
Chapter 169
Chapter 170
Chapter 171
Chapter 172
Chapter 173
Chapter 174
Chapter 175
Chapter 176
Chapter 177
Chapter 178
Chapter 179
Chapter 180
Chapter 181
Chapter 182
Chapter 183
Chapter 184
Chapter 185
Chapter 186
Chapter 187
Chapter 188
Chapter 189
Chapter 190
Chapter 191
Chapter 192
Chapter 193
Chapter 194
Chapter 195
Chapter 196
Chapter 197
Chapter 198
Chapter 199
Chapter 200
Chapter 201
Chapter 202
Chapter 203
Chapter 204
Chapter 205
Chapter 206
Chapter 207
Chapter 208
Chapter 209
Chapter 210
Chapter 211
Chapter 212
Chapter 213
Chapter 214
Chapter 215
Chapter 216
Chapter 217
Chapter 218
Chapter 219
Chapter 220
Chapter 221
Chapter 222
Chapter 223
Chapter 224
Chapter 225
Chapter 226
Chapter 227
Chapter 228
Chapter 229
Chapter 230
Chapter 231
Chapter 232
Chapter 233
Chapter 234
Chapter 235
Chapter 236
Chapter 237
Chapter 238
Chapter 239
Chapter 240
Chapter 241
Chapter 242
Chapter 243
Chapter 244
Chapter 245
Chapter 246
Chapter 247
Chapter 248
Chapter 249
Chapter 250
Chapter 251
[251] Through desire [a person] can become a vessel for the resting of God's Presence in his heart. This is the the reason for the offerings for the Tabernacle from "Each person according to the giving of his heart" (Exodus 25:2), that through the giving of the heart of the Israelites comes the building of the Tabernacle, bringing God's Presence below. Thus it is according to what each person develops in their heart, as one person's feelings are not comparable to his fellow's. For according to the giving of the heart and strength of his desire to grasp is the dwelling of God. And there is also the offerings of the bases and the sacrifices, of which is said "the rich will not add etc" (Exodus 30:15), in which rich and poor are similar in awareness, and feeling, and force of desire, since this is to atone for their souls as explained in the Text, and as the sages z"l explained in the Jerusalem Talmud (Jerusalem Talmud, Shekalim 1:1:6) that is to atone for the Golden Calf. Meaning, to clean the soiling of the evil desires from the heart. And so too, regarding the communal sacrifices, they z"l said "the Tamid offering of the morning atones etc" (Midrash Tanchuma Pinchas 13:1). And regarding the issue of distancing from evil all Israel are the same, that all are able to cleanse from evil in practice, the separation of levels is only applicable for the reaching out for good. And also, regarding the true cleansing of evil we arrive to the level of "the one who makes great and small equal" (Machzor Rosh Hashanah Ashkenaz, Musaf, First Day of Rosh Hashana, Kedushah 35). As it is known, there are circles, and directness, and separations on the levels to go from lower to higher, from the side of directness, but this is not so on the circle of "all are equal." ...