Likutei Moharan 37:7/ליקוטי מוהר"ן ל״ז:ז׳

17. And this is the explanation of “be mindful of the sons of the ignorant.” For it is known that the noble souls {which are oppressed} within the scale, as mentioned in the Zohar (II, 113a), are in the evil force of nogah. The evil force of nogah wants the soul to become entrenched there. Therefore, it plants it in the semen drop of the ignorant man’s cohabitation, so that the soul should become extremely foul. Thus it is that the sons of the ignorant are very precious souls, but they are “like birds caught in the trap” (Ecclesiastes 9:12).

2How do we learn of their splendorous beauty? Only from their Torah teachings. When we see that they are Torah scholars, it becomes obvious that they have precious souls. And whatever Torah they reveal is all a revelation for the ritual slaughterer. For the soul is {an aspect of Torah}, as explained. Thus the Torah which they, the sons of the ignorant, reveal is an aspect of sparks that ascend to the Shekhinah as an aspect of mayin nukvin, corresponding to “See what a child I have come with.”

3This is why it is necessary to honor them. For by means of the honor, the Torah—i.e., the soul—is especially revealed from its hiddenness. This is because the root of everything is glory, as in, “whom I have created… for My glory.” And the soul yearns to be included in its root.

4This is the meaning of “be mindful of the sons of the ignorant”—to honor them, so that the Torah, which is the soul, should yearn to be included in its source: the glory. And through this “Torah will issue from them.”