Likutei Moharan, Part II 77:1/ליקוטי מוהר"ן·תנינא ע״ז:א׳

1Know! every Jew, even a great tzaddik, necessarily experiences some suffering every day. Moreover, the greater a person’s daat (unitive knowledge and awareness of God), the greater his suffering, as in “he who increases daat increases anguish” (Ecclesiastes 1:18).

2The sweetening comes about through eating in holiness and with fear of Heaven. In other words, eating in holiness produces mitigation so that the suffering does not become overpowering, God forbid. It also prevents a devolution from the suffering devolving to the Other Side, God forbid—this being harsh judgment, God forbid.

3And through this, i.e., through eating in holiness, which brings about mitigation, the mouth assumes the aspect of human status, as in “Who makes a mouth into a man?” (Exodus 4:11)—i.e., it makes and gives the mouth human status. This is because anyone whose eating lacks holiness, God forbid, his mouth is literally an aspect of an animal. But when he eats in holiness, he makes the mouth human—the mouth assumes human status.

4The reason is that fear of God comes to a person mainly while eating, as in (Ruth 2:14), “at mealtime, ‘Come halom (over here)’” {as we have discussed elsewhere (above, in Likutey Moharan II, 7:10)}—halom is nothing other than Malkhut (Zevachim 102a), which conceptually corresponds to the fear of God, as our Sages stated: Were it not for the fear of malkhut (the government)… (Avot 3:2). It follows, that fear comes to a person while eating. {This is explained in the lesson “Vayehi Mikeitz – For He with Compassion will Lead Them,” that sustenance and livelihood are drawn mainly from Malkhut (Kingship), which corresponds to fear of God. Study there well.}

5Therefore, when a person eats in holiness and draws upon himself the fear of God that is accessible to him at the time of eating—i.e., he eats with fear of Heaven, in proper holiness and purity—he brings the concept of Malkhut /fear of God into the mouth. The mouth assumes human status, as in “Who makes a mouth into a man?” For when a person does not eat in holiness and with fear of Heaven, the fear accessible at the time of eating stands afar and does not enter into him. But when he eats in holiness and with fear of God—i.e., he draws upon himself the aforementioned holy fear—then the concept of fear/ Malkhut enters his mouth and his mouth assumes human status.

6In reward for this—that he eats in holiness and with fear of Heaven, and makes the mouth human—he merits an even greater ascent. From the aforementioned human status he is elevated to the aspect of Supernal Man, as in “and upon the Throne there was a form in appearance like a man on it from above” (Ezekiel 1:26). This refers to Supernal Man, the concept of the Shekhinah speaks from within his throat. It corresponds to “Adonoy (O God), open my lips” (Psalms 51:17), for with the opening of his mouth he is the aspect of Adonoy, of the Shekhinah speaks from within his throat. That is, when he makes the mouth human, he is in the category of “speaker,” for speech is the defining element of a human being. But afterwards he merits the mouth being elevated to the aspect of Supernal Man, the concept of the Shekhinah speaks from within his throat, as in “Adonoy, open my lips.”