האיך ירגיל האדם עצמו במדת הבינה: בינה היא תשובה: וְהוּא לָשׁוּב בִּתְשׁוּבָה שֶּׁאֵין דָּבָר חָשׁוּב כָּמוֹהָ מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהִיא מְתַקֶּנֶת כָּל פְּגַם, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁדֶּרֶךְ הַבִּינָה לְמַתֵּק כָּל הַדִּינִים וּלְבַטֵּל מְרִירוּתָם, כָּךְ הָאָדָם יָשׁוּב בִּתְשׁוּבָה וִיתַקֵּן כָּל פְּגָם. וּמִי שֶׁמְּהַרְהֵר תְּשׁוּבָה כָּל יָמָיו גּוֹרֵם שֶׁתָּאִיר הַבִּינָה בְּכָל יָמָיו וְנִמְצְאוּ כָּל יָמָיו בִּתְשׁוּבָה דְּהַיְנוּ לִכְלֹל עַצְמוֹ בְּבִינָה שֶׁהִיא תְּשׁוּבָה וִימֵי חַיָּיו מְעֻטָּרִים בְּסוֹד הַתְּשׁוּבָה הָעֶלְיוֹנָה. וּרְאֵה כִּי כְמוֹ שֶׁהַתְּשׁוּבָה יֵשׁ בָּהּ שֹׁרֶשׁ כָּל הַנִּמְצָאוֹת בְּסוֹד הַיּוֹבֵל וַהֲרֵי שֹׁרֶשׁ הַחִצוֹנִים סוֹד נְהַר דִּינוּר הַנִּכְלָל בִּקְדֻשָּׁה בְּסוֹד הַגְּבוּרוֹת נִשְׁרַשׁ שָׁם וְיִתְפַּשֵּׁט מִשָּׁם וְיִקָּרֵא הִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת חֲרוֹן אַף וּבְסוֹד "וַיָּרַח ה' אֶת רֵיחַ הַנִּיחֹחַ" (בְּרֵאשִׁית ח, כא) יַחְזֹר הַהִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת הַהוּא אֶל מְקוֹרוֹ וְיֻמְתְּקוּ הַדִּינִים וְיִשְׁקֹט הֶחָרוֹן וְיִנָּחֵם ה׳ עַל הָרָעָה, כָּךְ הָאָדָם בְּסוֹד תְּשׁוּבָתוֹ עוֹשֶׂה סוֹד זֶה. Chapter 4 - How a person can accustom himself with the trait of understanding (binah): Understanding is repentance. And this is that one [should] repent - as there is nothing as important as it, since it repairs every defect. And like it is the way of Understanding to sweeten all of the judgments and to nullify their bitterness, so [should] a person repent and fix every defect. And one who ponders repentance all of his days causes Understanding to shine upon him all of his days. 'And it comes out that all of his days are in repentance' - which is [to say that he] is including himself in Understanding, which is Repentance. And [so] the days of his life are crowned with the secret of the Highest Repentance. And see, that [just] like Repentance has the root of all that is in existence in it through the secret of the Jubilee, and behold the root of the external forces - [which] is the secret of the River Dinur which is included in the holiness of the secret of the severities - is [also] rooted There and extends from There and this extension is called the extension of the burning fury, but the extension returns to its Source in the secret of "And the Lord smelled the pleasant smell" (Genesis 8:21), and the judgments are sweetened and the fury is stilled, 'and the Lord relents of the evil'; so [too] does a person do this secret with the secret of his repentance.
התשובה טובה גם לרע: שֶׁלֹּא תֹאמַר שֶׁהַתְּשׁוּבָה טוֹבָה לְחֵלֶק הַקְּדֻשָּׁה שֶׁבָּאָדָם, אֶלָּא גַּם לְחֵלֶק הָרַע שֶּׁבּוֹ, מִתְמַתֵּק כְּעֵין הַמִּדָּה הַזֹּאת. תֵּדַע שֶׁהֲרֵי קַיִן רַע הָיָה וּמִנָּחָשׁ הָיָה וְנֶאֱמַר לוֹ (שם ד, ז) "הֲלֹא אִם תֵּיטִיב שְׂאֵת" אַל תַּחְשֹׁב מִפְּנֵי שֶׁאַתָּה מִצַּד הָרַע שֶּׁאֵין לְךָ תַּקָּנָה, זֶה שֶׁקֶר. הֲלֹא אִם תֵּיטִיב וְתַשְׁרִישׁ עַצְמְךָ בְּסוֹד הַתְּשׁוּבָה שֶׁאִם תִּסְתַּלֵּק שָׁם בְּסוֹד הַטּוֹב הַמֻּשְׁרָשׁ שָׁם שֶׁכָּל מַר עֶלְיוֹן שָׁרְשׁוֹ מָתוֹק וְיָכוֹל לִכָּנֵס דֶּרֶךְ שָׁרְשׁוֹ וּלְהֵטִיב עַצְמוֹ, וְלָזֶה הַפְּעֻלּוֹת עַצְמָן מֵטִיב הָאָדָם וּזְדוֹנוֹת נַעֲשׂוּ לוֹ כִּזְכֻיּוֹת, כִּי הִנֵּה אֹתָם הַפְּעֻלּוֹת שֶׁעָשָׂה הָיוּ מְקַטְרְגוֹת מִסִּטְרָא דִשְׂמָאלָא, שָׁב בִּתְשׁוּבָה שְׁלֵמָה, הֲרֵי מַכְנִיס וּמַשְׁרִישׁ אוֹתָן הַפְּעֻלּוֹת לְמַעְלָה וְכָל אֹתָם הַמְּקַטְרְגִים אֵינָם מִתְבַּטְּלִים אֶלָּא מְטִיבִין עַצְמָן וּמִשְׁתָּרְשִׁים בִּקְדֻשָּׁה כְּעֵין הֲטָבַת קַיִן, וַהֲרֵי אִם קַיִן שָׁב בִּתְשׁוּבָה וְנִתְקַן הִנֵּה זְדוֹן אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן שֶׁבּוֹ הוֹלִיד אֶת קַיִן - קִינָא דִמְסָאֲבוּתָא, הָיָה נֶחְשָׁב לוֹ זְכוּת, בְּסוֹד "בְּרָא מְזַכֶּה אַבָּא" (סַנְהֶדְרִין קד.). אָמְנָם לֹא רָצָה לָשׁוּב, וּלְכָךְ כָּל סִטְרָא דִשְׂמָאלָא נִמְשַׁךְ מִשָּׁם, וְכָל עֲנָפָיו עֲתִידִין לְהִתְמַתֵּק וְהֵם שָׁבִים וּמִתְמַתְּקִים, וְהַיְּנוּ מַמָּשׁ מִן הַטַּעַם שֶׁפֵּרַשְׁנוּ, שֶׁהָאָדָם מַשְׁרִישׁ בְּעַצְמוֹ סוֹד הָרָע וּמְמַתְּקוֹ וּמַכְנִיסוֹ אֶל הַטּוֹב. לְפִיכָךְ הָאָדָם מְטַהֵר יֵצֶר הָרַע וּמַכְנִיסוֹ אֶל הַטּוֹב וְהוּא מִשְׁתָּרֵשׁ בִּקְדֻשָּׁה לְמָעְלָה. Repentance is also good for the bad, that you [should] not say that repentance is only good for the holy part in man - but rather it also sweetens the evil part in him, similar to this [Higher] trait: Know that Kain was bad and was from the snake, but it was stated to him (Genesis 4:7), "Is it not that if you do good, it will be lifted" - do not think that because you are from the side of evil, that you have no reparation; that is a lie! Is it not that "if you do good" and root yourself in the secret of repentance, "it will be lifted," [such] that you will withdraw to there in the secret of the good rooted there - as all the Highest Bitterness has a sweet root and can enter through its root to better itself. And so these same actions improve a person, and his 'volitional sins are made for him [to be] like merits.' As behold, those actions that he did were prosecuting from the 'left side.' [If] he repented with complete repentance, behold, he brings these actions in and roots them to the Above. And all of these prosecutors do not become nullified, but rather improve themselves and root themselves in holiness, similar to the [possible] betterment of Kain. And behold, if Kain had repented and been repaired; behold, the volitional sin of Adam (literally the first man) through which he fathered Kain - who is the nest (kina) of impurity - would have been considered a merit, through the secret of 'a child gives merit to the father' (Sanhedrin 104a). However, he did not want to repent. And hence, all the 'side of the left' is drawn from there. But all of its branches are destined to be sweetened, and they will repent and be sweetened. And this is exactly from the reason that we explained - that a person takes the secret of evil to his own roots and sweetens it and brings it into the good. Hence, a person purifies his evil impulse and brings it into the good, and it becomes rooted in holiness Above.
וְזוֹ הִיא מַעֲלַת הַתְּשׁוּבָה שֶׁהָאָדָם יִתְנַהֵג בָּהּ, צָרִיךְ שֶׁבְּכָל יוֹם וָיוֹם יְהַרְהֵר בָּהּ וַיַּעֲשֶׂה תְּשׁוּבָה בְּצַד מַה כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּהְיוּ כָּל יָמָיו בִּתְשׁוּבָה: And this is the virtue of repentance that a person practices. He must ponder it each and every day and repent in some way, so that 'all of his days will be in repentance.'