Likutei Moharan 19:3/ליקוטי מוהר"ן י״ט:ג׳

13. <How does the tzaddik achieve this countenance? It comes from the Holy Tongue.> For the value of the Holy Tongue is very great; with it the world was created. As our Sages say (Bereishit Rabbah 18:4): “‘This one shall be called IShah (woman) because from ISh (man) was she taken’ (Genesis 2:23) — lashon nophel al lashon (a play on words). From here we see that the world was created with the Holy Tongue.”

2This [verse] is a reference to ChaVaH, corresponding to (Psalms 19:3), “Night yeChaVeH (declares) to night”—namely, the concept of speaking with the Holy Tongue, with which the world was created. And this is what is implied in, “L’zot (this one) shall be called woman”—namely, speech—as in (Genesis 49:28), “V’zot (this is) what [their father] spoke to them.”

3And by virtue of LaShoN hakodesh (the Tongue of Holiness), “He exalted us above all the L’ShoNot (nations)” (Fe st ival Liturgy). All the nations’ tongues are vanquished by the Holy Tongue. That is, the evil with which the nation’s tongue is allied is nullified and vanquished through the Holy Tongue. It [the evil] therefore has no power over the Jewish people. This is the concept of LaShoN nophel al LaShoN (lit., tongue falls upon tongue).

4The comprehensive evil in which all the evils of the seventy tongues are encompassed <is the> burning inferno of the lust for sex in which all the seventy tongues are immersed and absorbed. <This lust> is vanquished and nullified and has no power due to the Holy Tongue. This corresponds to the “conflagration of seventy stars” mentioned in the holy Zohar (II, 203a), namely the comprehensive evil, which is the burning inferno of the lust for sex in which all the seventy nations are absorbed.

5And this is the concept of ChaShMaL: Chayot aiSh me ’MaLelot (fire-speaking creatures) (Chagigah 13b). Chayot aish corresponds to Chavah/ ishah, namely, the Holy Tongue, as explained. Through them the fire of the “conflagration of the seventy stars” mitMaLel (is extinguished) and crushed. This is synonymous with the MaL of chashMaL which is <numerically equivalent to seventy>, the “conflagration of the seventy stars” which becomes extinguished and is eliminated by the Holy Tongue. And for this reason it is called the Holy Tongue, for “anywhere you find protective measures against illicit sexual behavior, you find holiness” (Vayikra Rabbah 24:6).

6And this is what Rashi explains (Genesis 2:24): “‘man shall therefore leave his father and mother, and be united with his wife’—from here we learn that sexual promiscuity was forbidden to them. They were informed of this through ruach hakodesh (Holy Spirit).” The Holy Spirit is synonymous with the Holy Tongue, as in (Psalms 33:6), “[By the word of God the heavens were made,] and by the ruach (spirit) of His mouth their entire host.” By means of the Holy Tongue, the lust for sex is checked and controlled. In other words [by means of the Holy Tongue] the “conflagration of the seventy stars” has no rule over the Jewish people, corresponding to, “one tongue overcoming the other” (lashon nophel al lashon), as explained. The spirit of folly is nullified <and vanquished> by the Holy Spirit.

7Conceptually this is the rectification of the Covenant, which is synonymous with the Holy Spirit, as in (Zevachim 116a): “Neither did there arise any more spirit in man” (Joshua 2:11) —[about which our Sages say that this alludes to the lack of masculine virility].

8This is, “He then sealed flesh in its place” (Genesis 2:21). [Concerning this our Sages taught] (Berakhot 61a): “This was only required for the location of the ChaTaKh (incision)”—namely, ChiTuKh (articulation) of the words <of the Holy Tongue>.

9And this is, “He built” (Genesis 2:22) —”He constructed her like a storehouse” (Berakhot, ibid.). The primary construction and rectification of the Holy Tongue is dependent upon (Isaiah 33:6), “the fear of God is his storehouse,” corresponding to (Ecclesia st es 12:13), “Sof davar (In the end), all is heard: fear the Lord.”

10This is like a granary of wheat. In other words, fear is a storehouse upon which the making and rectifying of the chitah (wheat)—the twenty-two letters of the Holy Tongue—depends.

11This is the meaning of (Psalms 60:8), “The Lord spoke through His holiness”—holy words are dependent upon “fear the Lord.”

12Now Yosef, because he had achieved perfection of the Holy Tongue—as in (Genesis 45:12), “… that I myself am speaking to you,” in the Holy Tongue—it is therefore written of him (ibid. 41:38), “Can there be another person who has the spirit of the Lord in him as this man does?” The “spirit of the Lord” is synonymous with rectifying the Covenant, in the aspect of, “Neither did there arise any more spirit in man.” For rectifying the Covenant is dependent upon the Holy Tongue, as in, “From here we learn that sexual promiscuity was forbidden to them.” This is because one without the other is impossible. In other words, rectification of the Covenant and perfection of the Holy Tongue are dependent one upon the other.

13And this is the meaning of (Proverbs 29:3), “But he who keeps company with harlots wastes his wealth.” “Do not read this hon (wealth), but garon (voice).” This corresponds to the Holy Tongue, because the person who blemishes the Covenant forfeits the Holy Tongue.

14This is also (ibid. 3:9), “Honor God with your wealth.” Specifically honor, for the concept of honor is dependent upon it [the Holy Tongue]. This is because the reverse of honor is shame and disgrace, which are associated with the genitalia. As is brought in the Tikkunim (Tikkuney Zohar #58, p.92a): “They were not embarrassed” (Genesis 2:25) —”embarrassment applies specifically to the genitalia.” And sexual immorality is synonymous with blemishing the Covenant, the concept of the foreskin, <the concept of disgrace, as in (Genesis 34:14), “We cannot give our sister to an uncircumcised man> as this would be a disgrace to us.”

15This is “honor,” which is the reverse of shame and disgrace. It is dependent upon “your wealth”—namely, “your voice,” which is the perfection of the Holy Tongue, as explained.

16And “yoSeF,” <because he had> perfection of the Holy Tongue, which is the rectification of the Covenant, <it is written of him,> “God has aSaF (gathered up) my humiliation” (Genesis 30:23). This is because honor depends upon this [gathering up of humiliation], for “embarrassment applies specifically to the genitalia,” as above.

17And the Serpent, which is the comprehensive evil, <when it sees> that the Holy Tongue lacks perfection, it goes and rules over the Holy Tongue. This corresponds to, “The Serpent’s rule is over the flesh”—namely, the concept of Chavah, mentioned above. She is ‘flesh of his flesh,’ corresponding to (Haggai 2:12), “consecrated flesh.”

18And this is the concept of the Serpent who seduced Chavah and polluted her (Shabbat 146a). He is the storm-wind, the spirit of folly, the “woman of folly” (Proverbs 9:13). He continually seduces the Holy Spirit, which is the Holy Tongue, the woman of wisdom—corresponding to (ibid. 14:1), “the wisdom of women”—and then pollutes her.

19This corresponds to (Genesis 4:7), “Sin crouches at the door.” “At the door,” as in (Mikhah 7:5), “the doors of your mouth” of the Holy Tongue. Sin crouches [by the door/mouth] in order to draw sustenance from it.