Likutei Moharan 13:5/ליקוטי מוהר"ן י״ג:ה׳

15. {“Now it came to pass… that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God…. Also out of the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures…. They had the face of an adam (man), the face of an aryeh (lion)… the face of a shor (ox)… and the face of a nesher (eagle)…. And the living creatures run and return…. And when the living creatures move, the ofanim (wheels) go… for the spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels…. And above the firmament that is over their heads is the likeness of a kisay (throne), in appearance like a sapphire stone. And upon the likeness of the throne is a likeness, in appearance like an adam, up above it” (Ezekiel 1) . } Now, this is the tikkun (rectification) of the Upper Chariot and the Lower Chariot. Through the wise man who takes the souls and ascends with them “and brings down the mighty in which it trusts,” the two Chariots are rectified.

2For in the aspect of soul, there are four living creatures, a throne and one who sits on the throne.

3ARYeh (lion) in the aspect of soul corresponds to (Song of Songs 5:1), “ARYsy mory (I gathered my myrrh) with my spice.” “MoRy” corresponds to “MaRat (bitterness of) soul” (1 Samuel 1:10), as in, “For her soul is bitter within her” (2 Kings 4:27). This indicates a blemish of the soul, a flaw of the will. When a person wants some object of desire, this will is a flaw and is bitter for the soul.

4And now, when this person comes with his soul and his will to the wise man of the generation, and the wise man of the generation takes all the wills and gathers them together one with another in order to elevate them as above, then he also gathers together all the wills and souls which have fallen. This is the aspect of aryeh: it connotes of gathering; he gathers together the bitterness of the soul—i.e., the blemish of the soul. [And this is] “with my spice”—with the good will, which gives off a pleasant fragrance.

5Shor (ox) in the aspect of soul is the clear light added to the soul because of the coming together, the uniting of the soul’s fragments. Then, the soul shines even more. For when the will does not shine, then the soul is in the aspect of “the soul hungers” (Psalms 107:9).

6The essence of the hunger [that a person feels] stems from a lack of light. As our Sages taught: “He made you suffer and let you go hungry, and He fed you the manna” (Deuteronomy 8:3) —from here we learn that a blind man is never satiated (Yoma 74b). This is because satiation essentially comes from the light that one sees with his eyes. But, because he does not see, his soul—his will—is never fulfilled, for “Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the soul” (Ecclesiastes 6:9).

7However, when he purifies his soul with the clearness of the light, then, “[He has satisfied the longing soul] and the hungry soul He has filled with goodness” (Psalms, ibid.). This corresponds to (Isaiah 58:11), “And He will satiate your soul with clearness.” This is the aspect of ShoR: it connotes gazing, corresponding to “… the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the soul.”

8Nesher (eagle) in the aspect of soul is the renewal which the soul experiences when it ascends in the aspect of eybur (pregnancy). This is the aspect of nesher: “Your youth is renewed like that of the eagle” (Psalms 103:5).

9Adam (man) in the aspect of soul corresponds to (Genesis 2:7), “And the adam became a living soul.” For “the adam” indicates impoverished and wealthy, as is written (Genesis 1:26), “Let us make man in our image”—wealthy; “in our likeness”—impoverished (Zohar, Introduction p.13b).

10Now, when the souls come together, they are then in the aspect of adam ; souls great and small, corresponding to impoverished and wealthy.

11Ofanim (wheels) are the bodies. For the body’s main functioning comes only from the life-force in the soul. The soul exhibits its functioning through the limbs of the body, whereas the body has no movement of its own. Everything happens because of the soul’s powers.

12KiSay (throne) in the aspect of soul is the wise man’s soul, which is nitKaSeh (concealed). This corresponds to (Proverbs 3:15), “[The wise man’s soul] is more precious than PNiNiM (pearls),” {about which our Sages expounded: More precious than the High Priest who entered liPhNi v’liPhNiM (the innermost sanctum) (Sotah 4b).} Because the soul of the wise man is so precious, it is concealed in the innermost sanctum and all the souls become her garb.

13And, [finally,] the adam who sits on the throne is the knowledge of the wise man, for “Also, that the soul be without daat is not good” (Proverbs 19:2).

14There are also the four living creatures in [the aspect of] Torah. Aryeh [is] in the Torah, for the Torah is called “might,” and “what is mightier than a lion?” (Judges 14:18). ShoR in the Torah is alluded to in (Proverbs 8:16), “By me sarim yaSoRu (rulers rule).” Nesher in the Torah is the aspect of new Torah insights, as alluded in, “… renewed like that of the eagle.” Adam in the Torah is alluded to in (Numbers 19:14), “This is the Torah: a man!” The [Torah] has lenient and strict applications, corresponding to “impoverished” and “wealthy.”

15Kisay in the aspect of Torah are those things which the Ancient of Days kisah (Pesachim 119a) —they conceal themselves within the stories of the Torah. The one who sits on the throne is the Ancient of Days [Himself], as in (Daniel 7:9), “The Ancient of Days did sit.” [Finally,] ofanim in Torah are themselves the bodies of law.

16And this is the story brought in Taanit (23b) about Rabbi Yonah:

17When the world was in need of rain, he said, “I will go and purchase a zuz worth of eybura (grain).” [Instead,] he would stand in a deep place, a concealed place, covered in sackcloth. And this would cause the rains to come.

18When the world was in need of rain — In other words, [in need] of Torah, as in (Deuteronomy 32:2), “My teaching shall drop like rain.”

19He said, I will go and purchase a zuz worth of eybura (grain) — EYBUR corresponds to EB RaYU. Eb alludes to allaying; rayu is the aspect of burning; zuza corresponds to the desire for money. In other words, he went to allay the [burning] desire for money.

20he would stand in a deep place — Having allayed the desire for money, he merited a “deep place.” This is the aspect of lovingkindness, as in the way “the sun-lit spots appear deeper than the shaded spots” (Shavuot 6b). And lovingkindness is the light of day, as is written (Psalms 42:9), “God will command His lovingkindness in the daytime.” And through the lovingkindness he was worthy of building the House, the aspect of intellect, as above. And this is:

21a concealed place — This refers to the Holy Temple, which is the intellect, as is written (Proverbs 11:2), “But with the concealed (modest) is wisdom.”

22covered in a sackcloth — This alludes to taking the souls in order to elevate them, as mentioned above: “He that takes souls is wise.” The encompassing of the souls is known as a SaK (sack), for “they delight in the ShaKya (drink) of the brook.” This corresponds to, “And He shall satiate your soul with clearness.” And through this:

23the rains to come — He drew down Torah, as in, “… and brings down the mighty in which it trusts.”