For I have heard from my Master the understanding of the Talmud (1) “the Jews were not exiled until they denied God and David” as well as the meaning of the Talmud (2) “there is no difference between this world and the days of Moshiach but for enslavement to the kingdoms”: {the Besht explained this by first solving something else:} that it says in Talmud (3) “he who passed forty days without pain, has received his world, vechulu what constitutes pain? He who reaches for his purse vechulu.” And he {the Besht} asked, if there is no pain without sin (4), how could this {minor discomfort} be counted as forgiveness of sin (5) ? And he explained that the tzaddik lives on faith {Hab. 2:4}, {that is because} he who believes in divine providence (6), and he knows about him that all the happenings of man is from Him Blessed Be, whether trivial or important, everything is in the judgment of ADNY (7), the law of the heavenly kingdom. And {the tzaddik knows that} the judgements are caused by his sins and {since} he {i.e. the tzaddik} immediately regretted and filled with trembling and fear of God, he is immediately forgiven since he has faith and returns to Him and reunites his thoughts with Him Blessed Be. And therefore, even {a minor discomfort such as} one who reaches for his purse vechulu {does}, since he believes that it was caused by his sin and regrets {having done them}, it {i.e. the discomfort} is considered a forgiveness of sin (8). And this concept is known as ‘David’ {spelled in Hebrew DVD}, since the infinate light also known as ‘nothingness’ is the level of Daled (9), from where it becomes the Vav (10) to the second Daled {here symbolising Malchus, our realm} which is ultimate humbleness -everything is with exact providence by Him Blessed Be. And when one does not believe this, that everything is by exact providence from Him blessed Be, and says “it was my might and the strength of my hand, have done for me {Deuteronomy, 8:17}”- this is the one who is called an apostate of God and the paradigm of DaViD mentioned above. Since he denies the judgement of the kingdom of ADNY {and believes} only in Malchus {i.e. the world that could be detected by the five senses}, he is {obviously} covered {by} and enslaved to The Husks that cover and hide the paradigms of His Providence, from people. In the future, in the days of the Moshiach, {in} which the spirit of uncleanliness i shall remove from the land {Zechariah 13:2}, then it will be revealed His providence Blessed Be in complete detail vechulu. With this {introduction}, it will be understood “the Jews were not exiled until they denied God and David” and this is {how “there is no} difference between this world and the days of Moshiach {but} for enslavement of the kingdoms.” And understand. And the words of the wise, a charm.TYY 27b and {verbatim} BPY 49d
He does not go on to fully explain how this solves the issue of “there is no difference between this world and the days of Moshiach {but} for enslavement of the kingdoms.” What he seems to imply is that “there is no difference,” meaning one could easily transcend this world into the glory days of Moshiach, if one only gets away from the “enslavement of the kingdoms”, i.e. the domain of the Husk. Explicit is that one could get away from their domain through knowing that everything, big or small, is in the hands of the almighty. Underneath the Husks is the fruit, ripe and sweet, ready to be enjoyed.
Already in Midrash Tanchuma we read: “the wise call it ‘the world to come’ not because it does not exist now, but for us today in this world it is still to come” (11).
I have heard from my Master that the paradigm of the exile of Egypt was that they were missing the knowledge of knowing that there is one creator who continuously renews in His goodness the works of creation (12). Until Moshe came {around, who is} the rung of knowledge and through the miracles {he preformed} it spread in the world that there is a Creator who continuously renews. however, this sort of knowledge that was reviled in Egypt was a feminine (13) type of knowledge, but the masculine knowledge will be revealed in the future in the days of Moshiach... when it will be seen eye to eyeTYY 28A
for I have heard from my Master {that} the concept of the Resurrection of the dead and Moshiach is the mystery of knowledgeZP 48c
which is also the mystery of the world to comeTYY 201A (14)
So, the Moshiach that we are waiting for is really more of a revelation than a person (15). A revelation that all is already good, since everything is by divine providence.
Bibliography:
The Zohar: Pritzker Edition, translated with commentary by Daniel C. Matt (Stanford, 2004).
Maimonedes, Guide to the Perplexed, translated by Michael Friedlander, 1903. Kindle Edition, May 14, 2009
PBST = In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov, translated and edited by Dan Ben-Amos and Jerome R. Mintz (IUP, 1970)
Hebrew Titles:
TTY = Toldot Ya’akov Yosef Rabbi Yakov Yoseph of Polnoye (Koretz, 1780?).
ZP = Tzofnat Pane’ah. Rabbi Yakov Yoseph of Polnoye (Koretz, 1782).
BPY = Ben Porat Yosef Rabbi Yakov Yoseph of Polnoye (Koretz, 1781).
KP = Ketonet Pasim. Rabbi Yakov Yoseph of Polnoye (Lvov, 1866).
DM = Divrei Moshe, Moshe Shoham of Dolina. (publication place lacking, 1801).
SYB = Sod Yochin U’Boaz,
OT = Or Torah, Dov Ber of Mezrich (Brooklyn, 1973).
LY = Likutim Yekorim, Dov Ber of Mezrich (2nd edition, Lemberg, 1792).
SBST = Sefer Baal Shem Tov. Compiled by Shimon Menahem Mendel of Goverchov. (Lodz, 1938).
ShHB = Shivhei ha-Besht. (Kopys {Kapust}, 1815)
RAM = Sefer Eliyahu Mizrachi, Amsterdam, 1718.
Nachmanides, Shaar HaGemul, (orignially published in Constantinople 1519). DBS Torah Database Ver. 15 2009.
Likutei Moharan, R’ Nachman.
Torat Haminche, R’ Yaakov Sakili (a disciple of the Rashba). DBS Torah Database Ver. 15 2009.
Shaarei HaLeshem, Shlomo Eliashiv. DBS Torah Database Ver. 15 2009.
Mitpachat Seforim, R’ Yakov Emden, Altona, 1768
Migdal Oz, R’ Yakov Emden, Altona, 1758
Notes:
(1) Actually in Zohar 2:175b
(2) B. Talmud, Ber. 34b
(3) ibid., Eiruchin 16b
(4) The Besht here (for another take on suffering by the Besht in TYY 171c- which maybe along the lines that all of life is, and is enabled by, suffering) is in sync with Rav Ami’s opinion in B. Talmud, Shabbes 55a. The Talmud {ibid. 55b}, however, rejects this opinion. The Besht, however, works out according to Rashi Ber. 5a {D”H Yesurin} who seems to believe that {at least according to Rava} pain is either caused by sin or given as “Yesurin Shel Ahava”, Pains of Love (Rashi works out very well with the sugyeh in Shabbes). So, as a general rule that applies to all but to those who have never sinned, “there is no pain without sin.” (also see, R’ Akiva Eiger {Gilyon HaShas, ibid.} who points to the RA”M {R’ Eliyahu Mizrachi, commentary to Gen. 32:11 and Deut. 20:8} who despite the Talmudic conclusion goes with Rav Ami that there is no pain without sin; MaHaRShA to Ber. 4a who dismisses the Mizrachi off-hand based on T. Shabbes ibid.; Maimonedes, Guide 3:24 “The teaching of our Sages..."There is no death without sin, and no affliction without transgression." Every intelligent religious person should have this faith, and should not ascribe any wrong to God, who is far from it; he must not assume that a person is innocent and perfect and does not deserve what has befallen him” and 3:17 “Another fundamental principle taught by the Law of Moses is this: Wrong cannot be ascribed to God in any way whatever; all evils and afflictions as well as all kinds of happiness of man, whether they concern one individual person or a community, are distributed according to justice; they are the result of strict judgment that admits no wrong whatever. Even when a person suffers pain in consequence of a thorn having entered into his hand, although it is at once drawn out, it is a punishment that has been inflicted on him [for sin], and the least pleasure he enjoys is a reward [for some good action]; all this is meted out by strict justice; as is said in Scripture, "all his ways are judgment" (Deut. xxxii. 4); we are only ignorant of the working of that judgment.”; and Letter to the Wise of Marseille “and this is the principle of our law, the teachings of Moshe our Master Peace be upon him, that all events that occur in the world and all the suffering {even those that appear to} that {they} come by way of chance to all people- are by law and judgement. and so said the wise men of truth, our Masters peace upon them: ‘there is no pain without sin...’ ”; Nachmanides (quouted by Ikrim 4:13) Shaar HaGemul 118 “but regarding there is no pain without sin” his {R’ Ami’s} words were not rejected”; Likutei Moharan 1:8:4; Torat Haminche (Sakili) Sermen 64; Abarbanel Commentary to Gen. 15:1-21; Me’iri BT Ber. 5a and also see Leshem {shaarei haleshem 1:4} who points to Zohar 1:57b that clearly goes with R’ Ami (it is interesting that R’ Yakov Emden, Mitpachat Seforim 7a- who attacks this particular Zohar on being against the Talmud on two counts- fails to notice this point (or was it on purpose, since it may have scored a point for the Zohar, as I’m sure Emden was aware of our shmooz via Maimonides -and as Maimonides- does accept R’ Ami’s view as being the order of things in Migdal Oz 125a).
(5) See T. Ber. 5a “yesurim memarkin”.
(6) See Besht in TYY 67c where divine providence extends to even spiritual losses and difficulties.
(7) See Besht in TYY 34b “for all suffering are {contained} within this name {ADNY}”.
(8) and all suffering cease, see Besht in TYY 34b; 67d (also TYY 34c in the name of Mahril Pustiner);
(9) The letter Dalet is here related to the word dalut, – poverty – a common interpertation in Hasidic thought.
(10) The letter Vav – the form of a straight line – signifies connectivity or “drawing down.”
(11) Tanhuma vayikra 8 {trans. by Danial C. Matt, Zohar 1:7a note 302}.
(12) In Hebrew מעשה בראשית , perhaps alluding to wisdom- long identified with בראשית See RaMBaN Genesis 1:1, Zohar 1:2a, 3b, 15a, 145a.
(13) here, probably Feminine symbolizing belief, a weaker form of knowledge and Masculine symbolizing fully knowing and grasping this belief.
(14) He finishes off with “through the actions of man who channels upon himself in this world through his wisdom, {i.e.} that he wisely does all of his actions with wisdom and Daat {i.e. consiousness} vechulu and the words of the rightious a charm” {it sure gives us a sense of how revolutionary this idea is and how little the Toldos wanted to reveal of it}. Regarding the concept, see also TYY 29B “for Moshiach is the mystery of knowledge and this is the mystery of resurrection” and KP 31A “for I have heard from my Master {regarding BT???} ‘every רבי is from Israel and רב from Babylonia’ that the deeds of man {is} all unifications through Knowledge ר and Wisdom ב only that in Israel {i.e. ones ideal state} another י is added (here another word appears -נבועי - I have no idead what he may have meant by it) the realm of Daat, not so outside Israel it is without Daat ודפח”ח”
(15) though Moshiach surely exists as a person in the world of the Besht, as is evident from the Besht meeting Moshiach, see Letter in BPY 100a (and a somewhat different account, in much less reliable, PBST 57).
