Likutei Moharan 30:6/ליקוטי מוהר"ן ל׳:ו׳

16. And there are times when the aspect of Malkhut of Holiness, lower wisdom, falls into the exile of the Four Malkhuts, God forbid. For Malkhut is synonymous with the [letter] dalet —“d’let (because it hasn’t) anything of its own,” other than the offshoots of the upper intellect which disseminate to there. It, too, is comprised of four worlds, for in every world there is the aspect of Malkhut, lower wisdom—the aspect of wisdom which guides that world, as above.

2All the wisdoms of the nations are below the lower wisdom and their wisdom draws from there. But when, God forbid, they draw more than they should, they gain power <over Malkhut>. This creates the rule of the Four Malkhuts, the four exiles.

3And who can bear the great outcry when the aspect of Malkhut, lower wisdom, falls into their midst, God forbid. This corresponds to (Ecclesia st es 9:17), “the screams of one who rules among fools,” that is, the screams when the kingdom—the aspect of Malkhut, lower wisdom—falls among fools. For fools want to become wise. They want to draw into their wisdom, which is in fact foolishness, the aspect of true wisdom, i.e., lower wisdom.

4There is also another, greater outcry than this. The Holy One, as it were, Himself roars, as in (Jeremiah 25:30), “He will roar mightily over His habitation”—over His habitation (Zohar III, 74b). This refers to Malkhut, which falls into the exile of the Four Malkhuts.

5And we have to see to sever and free the aspect of Malkhut from among the four exiles, and raise it up from there. Its elevation is mainly achieved through the aspect of chesed (lovingkindness), as in (Isaiah 16:5), “The throne is established with lovingkindness,” and (Hoshea 10:12), “Cut [the harvest] with lovingkindness.” Through lovingkindness we cut and sever the dalet, Malkhut, and free it from them to raise it up to the Light of the Face.

6Thus, Avraham was a man of chesed. He always sought to do lovingkindness in order to elevate <the aspect of the dalet,> Malkhut, <from among them>. This is why Avraham ran after the Four Kings in order to subdue them. For they are the aspect of the Four Malkhuts, <the four exiles>. For Avraham despised money. He rejected the money of Sodom, as in (Genesis 14:23), “Neither a thread nor a shoestrap…. You will not be able to say, ‘I made Avraham rich.’”

7<As our Sages said:> Avraham instituted Shacharyt (the Morning Prayer) (Berakhot 26b). This is the above mentioned aspect of shacharut (blackness), the lower intellect. As explained, this corresponds to lower wisdom, blackness, which one merits to rectify through “despising monetary gain.”

8Thus, from Avraham descended Yitzchak and Yishmael, Yaakov and Esav. They are the aspect of “The Torah speaks of four sons: one wise, one wicked, one simple, and one who does not know how to ask,” and [they] parallel the Four Malkhuts of Holiness, as is known.

9Yitzchak is the wise son, for the name “Yitzchak” derives from the tzchok (joviality) and joy, and “A wise son makes his father rejoice” (Proverbs 10:1). Esav is the wicked son. Yaakov is the simple son, as is written (Genesis 25:27), “Yaakov was a simple man.” Yishmael is the son who does not know how to ask, for, as our Sages said: Yishmael repented (Bava Batra 16b). And the essence of repentance is the aspect of not knowing to ask—i.e., to repent and ask the Holy One for forgiveness regarding the unknown [sins]. This is the essence of repentance, as in (Psalms 69:5), “That which I did not steal, I must then return.”

10This is the concept of “Avraham instituted ShaChaRYT”: it is an acrostic for Chakham (wise), Rasha (wicked), Tam (simple), and She’eino Yode’a < lishol> (does not know to ask). These [four] correspond to the Four Malkhuts, as explained.

11And this is (1 Samuel 15:33), “Shmuel hacked Agag into pieces.” Agag embodied the Four Malkhuts of the Other Side, as is written (Numbers 24:20), “First among nations is Amalek.” This is also how Rashi explains “hacked into pieces”: he quartered him. In other words, he cut and separated the dalet —the aspect of Malkhut of Holiness, which hasn’t anything of its own—from Agag, the embodiment of the Four Malkhuts, <four exiles>, and elevated Malkhut of Holiness on the Three Festivals. Thus, “ShaSePh (he hacked into pieces)” stands for Shavuot, Sukkot, Pesach, for the primary life-force of Malkhut is from the Light of the Face of the Three Festivals, as explained.

12This corresponds to (2 Samuel 11:1), “It came to pass, at the return of the year, at the time when kings go out.” “The return of the year” alludes to the Three Festivals which are days of judgment, days of returning to God; as in the teaching of our Sages: On Pesach the grain harvest is judged, on Shavuot… (Rosh HaShanah 16a). Then is “the time when kings go out”— Malkhut of Holiness is taken out from the exile of the Four Malkhuts and raised to the Light of the Face which shines on the Three Festivals.

13There is therefore the aspect of “four” on each Festival. On Pesach there are the four cups of wine. On Shavuot there is the order of the Mishnah, which each one learned four times, as our Sages taught: What was the order of the Mishnah?… (Eruvin 54b). On Sukkot there are the four species. All of these parallel the above mentioned aspect of the dalet, Malkhut, that has to be elevated to the Light of the Face through the joys of the mitzvot accumulated in the Festivals, <which are the heart of the year,> as above.