Likutei Moharan 63:5/ליקוטי מוהר"ן ס״ג:ה׳

15. Now, there is a serpent with an ant inside its mouth. This ant surely has no peace, since it is inside the mouth of the serpent. There are times when the serpent crawls, and other times when it flies. The difference between crawling and flying is that when flying it can fly over a large area in a moment, but when crawling it moves slowly, like when someone walks, which is a plodding movement.

2From all the evil words that people speak, and especially those directed against tzaddikim and important leaders, they make wings for the serpent so that it can fly <and cause harm, God forbid>. Whereas holy words produce wings of holiness, in the aspect of “a winged creature will speak the word” (Ecclesiastes 10:20), these evil words produce wings for the serpent. <This is because “God made one to contrast the other” (ibid. 7:14), so that in contrast to> the above mentioned six wings of holiness <there are likewise those of the evil forces>. Since speech emerges from the KaNFei rei’ah (lobes of the lungs), the KNaFayim (wings) of the serpent are therefore made from them. This is because the speech that emerges from the six rings of the trachea parallels the aforementioned six wings of holiness.

3Now, the serpent signifies those scholars at doing evil who study philosophy and heretical teachings, as it is written (Jeremiah 4:22), “they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.” They are scholars only at doing evil; if they should want to use their wisdom for good, they could not. They are the aspect of the serpent, the aspect of “Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild beasts” (Genesis 3:1) .

4By means of the evil words, wings are made for these scholars, who are the aspect of the serpent, so that they can fly about—i.e., so that their scholarship and heretical teachings fly and spread around the world, causing it much harm. And even in their philosophical investigation itself they fly about, like someone with a flying intellect—i.e., their intellect flies at a <great> speed, and their wisdom is very accessible to them.

5However, if the serpent lacks wings—i.e., [the scholars] have no evil words, as explained above—then the serpent has only the aspect of walking. That is, the scholars do not have <the ability for> evil other than what they investigate among themselves. They do not fly about the world—i.e., their scholarship does not spread and fly about the world—and they cannot harm the world, only those close to them, such as their students and friends. But they cannot harm those far from them; similar to someone walking, who moves only a small distance <and slowly>, and cannot quickly reach some faraway place like the person who flies.

6Even among themselves, their intellect does not fly—i.e., their <heart and wisdom are> not so very accessible to them. Thus they do not fly about and move swiftly in their scholarship, but engage in philosophical investigation gradually, like someone walking. Therefore, the harm they bring to others through their scholarship is also only in the aspect of walking; it does not fly about and enter deeply into the mind and heart. Rather, it only somewhat adheres to the mind, without entering deeply into the heart and mind.

7But when, God forbid, they have wings from the evil words, as explained above, then their intellect flies about and causes <great> harm faraway, just like someone who flies in a single hour to a faraway place. Moreover, their confused scholarship flies about; it enters and adheres to the mind and heart in a very deep way.