Sefer Chemdat Yamim: A Sacred Book on Ethics and Kabbalah - #3

Come and see, friends.

Volume Three of Chemdat Yamim enters some of the most hidden chambers of the sefer: from Purim and the war against Amalek, through Shovavim and the repair of the covenant, into the mysteries of Tu BiShvat, the daily order of Torat Emet, and the Torah teachings gathered under Hadrat Kodesh.

The volume opens with Purim, the month in which sorrow was overturned into joy and darkness into great light. The deliverance of Mordekhai and Esther is revealed not only as a past miracle, but as an enduring pattern of holiness, judgment, exile, and redemption. The author explores Adar, Amalek, Ta’anit Esther, the Megillah, gifts to the poor, Torah study, prayer, rejoicing, and the sacred Purim feast, before opening the Megillah itself according to the esoteric teaching.

From Purim the reader enters Shovavim, the sacred weeks of return and rectification. Fasting, confession, tears, Torah, immersion, prayer, charity, guarding the eyes and speech, and the purification of thought and action become part of a larger work of Teshuvah. The purpose is not despair, but return: damage is answered with repair, separation with unification, and scattered sparks are gathered again toward holiness.

Within these days appears Tu BiShvat, the New Year of the Tree. Through blessings, prayers, scriptural and Zoharic readings, the order of the fruits, the four cups of wine, and the twelve permutations of the holy Name, eating itself becomes an act of elevation. The author connects the fruits with the repair of Adam, the elevation of holy sparks, and the restoration of blessing to its proper root.

The volume then opens Torat Emet — The Torah of Truth, an order intended to carry holiness into the ordinary days of life. Torah, Prophets, Writings, Zohar, daily rectifications, teachings for repentance, and letters of instruction guide the reader through study, prayer, conduct, livelihood, blessings, charity, purity, speech, and the service of the commandments.

The volume concludes with Hadrat Kodesh — The Splendor of Holiness, a gathering of hidden teachings on the Torah portions from Bereshit through Vayechi. Creation, Noach and the Flood, Avraham, the Akedah, Yaakov, Yosef, the holy covenant, the Divine Names, the Sefirot, and the gathering of sparks are opened through the language of the Zohar and the received wisdom of the Chachamim.

Throughout Volume Three runs one unbroken call: return, repair, remember, and uncover what lies within. Purim, Shovavim, Tu BiShvat, daily Torah study, and the mysteries of Bereshit are all drawn toward the sanctification of the soul, the gathering of holiness from exile, and the restoration of the bond between Israel and the Holy One, Blessed be He.

The Molcho Edition, Volume 3 has been translated and annotated for the English-speaking world, preserving the Hebrew and Aramaic alongside the English while illuminating the Torah, Talmudic, Midrashic, Zoharic, halachic, and teachings of the Ari woven throughout the sefer. This volume also includes a detailed topic index, selected bibliography, and glossary.

May the study of these holy teachings awaken Teshuvah among Israel, repair what has been broken, gather the scattered sparks of holiness, increase Torah and da’at, erase the remembrance of Amalek, and hasten the complete Redemption of all Israel and the unification of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and His Shechinah, speedily in our days. Amen.