Likutei Moharan 7:1/ליקוטי מוהר"ן ז׳:א׳

1“V’eileh HaMishpatim (And these are the laws) that you must place before them.” (Exodus 21:1)

2Our Sages taught: [The words “before them” indicate that in regard to all Torah laws,] woman is equated with man (Kiddushin 35a). The Mekhilta (21:1) comments: It might be that the students study but fail to comprehend. [Scripture] therefore states: “that you must place before them”—spread it out before them as a fully set table.

3Know! the essential reason for exile is nothing other than a lack of ÆMuNaH (faith), as is written (Song of Songs 4:8), “Come, gaze from the peak of AMaNaH.” And emunah is synonymous with prayer, as in (Exodus 17:12), “his hands were emunah,” which Onkelos renders: “[his hands] were spread out in prayer.”

4And [prayer] corresponds to miracles, the supernatural. For prayer transcends nature; the natural course dictates a certain thing, but prayer changes nature’s course. This is a miracle. And for this, one needs faith. A person has to believe that there is a M’chadesh (an Originator) with the power to originate as He sees fit.

5Now, the quintessence of faith, and thus prayer and miracles, is only in the Land of Israel, as is written (Psalms 37:3), “Dwell in the Land and cultivate emunah.” The principal elevation of the prayers is there, as in (Genesis 28:17), “This is the gate of heaven.”

6Because of this, when Avraham erred in saying (Genesis 15:8), “How shall I know [that I will inherit it]?”—thus blemishing his inheritance of the Land, which corresponds to faith/prayer—<he brought on> the exile in Egypt. And it was specifically “Yaakov and his [twelve] sons who descended into Egypt” (Joshua 24:4; see Genesis 46), for they correspond to the “twelve versions of prayer” (Zohar III, 170a).

7And, [God] exiled them <to Egypt, because> the Land of Egypt is the antithesis of [the Land of Israel, the place of] NiSiM (miracles), as is written (Exodus 14:27), “And the Egyptians NaSiM (were fleeing) against it.” For [Egypt] is not the place of miracles. It is also not the place of prayer, as in (Exodus 9:29), “When I go outside the city I will spread out my hands [in prayer].”

8[Our Sages taught:] All exiles are known as MiTZRayIM (Egypt), because they MeTZeiRIM (cause anguish and suffering) to the Jewish people (Bereishit Rabbah 16:4). Thus, when a person blemishes faith/<miracles>/prayer/the Land of Israel, he descends into <the depths of> exile.

9This is the meaning of what our Sages taught: The Mashiach son of David will not come until the [last] penny is gone from the pocket (Sanhedrin 97a) —i.e., gone are the atheists who have no faith in miracles and explain away all miracles as natural phenomena. And the quintessence of miracles is in the Land of Israel, for the Land of Israel drinks first (Taanit 10a). Its drink is from the t’home (depths), which connotes [the miraculous and amazing, as in] (Ruth 1:19), “the entire city TeiHoMe (was amazed).” Something that is miraculous amazes everyone.

10And this is (Psalms 42:8), “Deep calls to deep.” There are “upper miracles,” which correspond to the upper t’home, and there are “lower miracles,” which correspond to the lower t’home (Shemot Rabbah 5:9).

11{I saw the Angel of Rain. It had the appearance of an egla (ox) and prita sifevatei (its lips were split open). It was standing between t’home (the deep) and t’home (Taanit 25b).} Encompassing all miracles, both t’home, is an angel that has “the appearance of an EGLa (ox).” This corresponds to EeGuLim (circles), which is an aspect of faith, as is written (Psalms 89:9), “Your faith encircles you.” “And its lips were split open” alludes to prayer, as in (Psalms 51:17), “Lord, open my lips.” Thus, [the angel] encompasses all miracles.

12This is the meaning of, “until TiKhLeH PRuTaH min haKiS (the [last] penny is gone from the pocket).” For there are people who conceal all miracles, which are encompassed in the angel whose “lips were PRiTaH.” They m’KhaSim (conceal) [all miracles] with natural explanations. When this is TiKhLeH (gone), and there is abundant faith in the world, then Mashiach will come. For the redemption essentially depends upon this [abundant faith], as is written, “Come, gaze from the peak of Amanah.”