The exact wording of Rabenu [Nahman] z"l, given on Shabbat Shuva in the year 5563 (1803) in Breslov."And HaShem said to Moses, call unto Joshua..." (Deuteronomy 31)
(Continued from here)
4. And when a person wants to walk in the ways of repentance, he must be proficient in halakha (practical Torah application), and he must have two proficiencies: that is, proficient in running/going out and proficient in returning; as it is written, "Fortunate is the one who enters and leaves" (Zohar Vayak'hel and Ha'azinu). This is, "if I ascend to the heavens, You are there..." (Psalm 139), the aspect of going up/entering, proficiency in running/going out. [And the second part of the verse,] "...if I descend to the pit, here You are" - the aspect of leaving, the aspect of proficiency in returning/resting/consolidating.
This is, "I am for my beloved and my beloved is for me" (Song of Songs 6), "I am for my beloved..." - this is the aspect of entering/progressing; "...and my beloved is for me" - this is the aspect of leaving/returning/settling/resting/consolidating. This is the secret of the mystical intention of [the month of] Elul, and it is the main honor of HaShem. This is, "and you shall honor him from doing your ways" (Isaiah 58). "Your ways" is in the plural - meaning [the two 'ways' of] entering and leaving. And when one has these two proficiencies, then he walks in the ways of repentance and merits the honor of HaShem. As it is written, "and you shall honor him from the doing your ways". That is, that he merits kether (crown), for there is no kavod (honor) without the letter kaf, and then the right hand of HaShem is stretched forth to receive his repentance. This is the secret of the mystical intention of Elul.
5. And through silence and being quiet, the aspect of [the vowel marking] hirik [which is a single dot] is made, as is brought in the Tikunei HaZohar (Introduction, p. 7), ""...and underneath his feet was like the work of sapphire stone" (Ezekiel 1), this is [the vowel marking called] hirik". This is the aspect of "the earth is his footstool [hadom]" (Isaiah 66) - hadom (footstool) corresponds to demima (silence) [both words derive from the same root word d-m]. This is the aspect of the bottom dot (the lower left leg) of the image of [the letter] alef, א. And the upper point (the upper right part) that is upon the alef corresponds to kether (crown) as in, "and from above the sky, upon their heads, was a sapphire stone, the image of a throne" (Ezekiel 1), [as the Tikunei HaZohar comments in it's Introduction], "hidden above the [letter] vav, ו, (the straight line that passes through the alef א horizontally) which is called 'the sky'".
The [upper] dot is the hidden throne, as was said, "don't seek that which is beyond you, and that which is hidden from you, don't investigate" (Talmud, Hagiga 13) - this corresponds to "the honor of God is a hidden thing" (Proverbs 25), corresponding to kether (crown). The [letter] vav, ו, that is within the alef, א, is 'the sky', heavens (shamayim), [the word shamayim is a combination of the words] esh (fire) and mayim (water), corresponding to the shame from which one's face changes colors, and through this a person is made to sit on the throne (which is the upper right dot/line of the letter א), as it is written, "and the image of a man (adam) upon it, above" (there in Ezekiel). "For there is no [word] 'man' (adam, אדם) without the letter alef, א" (there in Tikunei HaZohar).
And these are the letters, אדם, adam (man): [the letter] alef - [added to the word] dam (silence or blood), א דם. That is, through "be silent (דם) to HaShem" [the letter] alef is made, and a person (adam) is made to sit on the throne. For the vav, ו, that is within the alef, א, is the sky, which encompasses [different] colors, alluding to shame. And the lower dot is being quiet and silence, as it says, "the earth is his footstool (hadom, הדום). This is the aspect of [the vowel marking] hirik [which is a single dot], corresponding to "below his feet". And the upper dot is the hidden throne, the aspect of [completed] repentance, corresponding to "the honor of God is a hidden thing", corresponding to, "that which is hidden from you, don't inquire", corresponding [further] to, "above the sky" - and the person is made to sit on the throne, the aspect of "as the image of a man (adam) upon it, above".
And then, a unification between the sun and moon is made; that the sun illuminates the moon and a unification between Moses and Joshua is made, for "the face of Moses was as the face of the sun" (Tal. Bava Bathra 75) - that is the upper dot, the throne, Moses, as it is written, "His throne is like the sun across from me" (Psalm 89), the aspect of "from above the sky was an image of a throne".
The lower dot is Joshua, the aspect of the moon, corresponding to, "and below his feet was as the work of LiVNath..." - this is the moon (LeVaNa). And the vav, ו, that is within the alef, א, is the sky, an aspect of the tent [of meeting], as it says, "and Joshua the son of Nun should not depart from inside the tent" (Exodus 33). The tent is the sky, as it is written, "and He stretched [the heavens] out like a tent to dwell" (Isaiah 40), and it is written, "[You] extend the heavens like a curtain" (Psalm 104) - this is, "the curtains of the tent" (Exodus 26).
And the upper throne, meaning the upper dot [of the letter alef, א] is divided into three drops because repentance must be on three conditions. As it is written, "Lest he see with his eyes, hear with his ears, his heart understand and he returns/repents" (Isaiah 6). These three aspects are the vowel marking [called] segol (which are three dots arranged in a triangular pattern), "and [the vowel marking] segol is the sun" (Tikunei HaZohar, Introduction p. 7) - that is, "the face of Moses was as the face of the sun".
TO BE CONTINUED
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