Likutei Moharan, Part II 5:14/ליקוטי מוהר"ן·תנינא ה׳:י״ד

114. This is also conceptually related to Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret:

2Rosh HaShanah is synonymous with the rectification of faith, as in “Your faith, too, in the assembly of the holy ones” (Psalms 89:6). For that is when all the holy communities gather. As a result, all the facets of faith are gathered together and collected, as in “Your faith, too, in the assembly of the holy ones,” and this brings to the rectification of the intellects. This is the meaning of Rosh HaShanah—specifically rosh (head), referring to the intellects that are made and rectified.

3This relates to the five senses of the brain, all of which correspond to Rosh HaShanah. The brain has five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. They all stem from the brain, from which nerves extend to each of these senses. All these senses are also related to Rosh HaShanah, which corresponds to the head and intellects.

4The sense of sight with regard to Rosh HaShanah is as in “God your Lord keeps His eyes on it continuously, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year” (Deuteronomy 11:12). At the beginning of the year judgment is issued concerning what will be at its end, because on Rosh HaShanah [God] sees and supervises the entire year, what will be at its end. This is the sense of sight.

5Hearing is the concept of God compassionately listening to the sound of the cries, prayers and shofar blasts of His people Israel.

6Smell corresponds to “He will breathe of the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:3), as in: “And so, O God our Lord, instill dread of You into all Your works, and awe of You into all that You have created” (High Holiday Liturgy).

7Taste corresponds to “Then prepare a tasty dish for me, the way I love it” (Genesis 27:4)—[namely,] from the positive commandments (Tikkuney Zohar #21, p.51a ff). In other words, the sense of taste corresponds to God tasting on Rosh HaShanah all the good deeds of the Jewish people.

8Touch is with the hands. Thus it is written about idol worship: “They have hands, but cannot touch” (Psalms 115:7)—for taction is by means of the hands. This is the meaning of: His hand is outstretched to accept those who repent, from Rosh HaShanah until Yom Kippur (cf. Rosh HaShanah 18a). This is the sense of touch.

9It follows, that Rosh HaShanah is the rectification of the intellects.

10And rectifying the intellects creates the concept of tefilin that cover the mind, because tefilin are the intellects’ shining radiance. This corresponds to the Ten Days of Repentance, for repentance is the idea of “If you extract yakar (the precious) from the vile” (Jeremiah 15:19). This alludes to tefilin, which are called yekar, as is stated: “and yekar” alludes to tefilin, as discussed above. { Tefilin are made through the rectification of the intellects, which is in turn achieved by rectifying and elevating them from “his flesh hechtim” to chotem of Holiness, i.e., intellects/ tefilin. This corresponds to “If you extract the preciousfrom the vile,” which signifies repentance. Understand this; [so] it seems to me.}

11And Yom Kippur is when the seal of Holiness is completed. This is the concept of tefilin, the opposite of the seal of the Other Side, as in “and on the Fast of Yom Kippur they are sealed” (Yom Kippur Liturgy). In other words, during the Ten Days of Repentance the tefilin are rectified, and on Yom Kippur their rectification is completed. For it is then that the rectification of the seal of Holiness—i.e., the concept of tefilin—is completed.

12Sukkah signifies the rectification of the angel, for SUKkaH has the same numerical value as MaLAKh (angel), alluding to a dream mediated by an angel on account of the intellects’ rectification. This is the reason Sukkot is “the season of our rejoicing”—alluding to the joy associated with tefilin, which strengthens the angel so that the foods cannot cause harm by corrupting dreams. Sukkot is “the Festival of Ingathering” (Rashi, Exodus 23:16), when all types of foods are gathered in. Therefore, joy is needed then to strengthen the angel, which is the rectification of the foods. And so it is “the season of our rejoicing.”

13Shemini ATZeRet corresponds to Malkhut, as in “this one yaATZoR (will rule) My people” (1 Samuel 9:17), which was said of a king. It is the rectification of mishpat, as in “O Lord, endow the king with Your mishpat” (Psalms 72:1)—i.e., the rectification of mishpat, as explained previously, through which the aforementioned defilement is eliminated. This is the meaning of what is brought in the holy writings, that on Shemini ATZeRet the feminine principle OTZeRet (retains) the drop of seed. This refers to the rectification of defilement. The aforementioned concepts rectify “his flesh becomes stopped up,” so that the drop of seed is retained in holiness instead of being wasted, as happens when “his flesh becomes stopped up,” God forbid.