Musar על ברכות 68:24

G–d has, however, provided a remedy for those Israelites who have become subject to these influences. This remedy is known as תשובה, repentance. Repentance possesses the power to bring such sinners "back into the fold," into the right side of the emanations which represents holiness. This was pointed out by Nachmanides; the relevant verse is 30,11 which refers to repentance. The mystical dimension of repentance is part of the emanation בינה. Students of the Kabbalah are aware that this emanation cannot be accessed by the Gentiles. The latter can access only the emanations from חסד "downwards." Canaanites have access to these lower emanations. Ishmael was sired by Abraham who represented the emanation חסד. Hence Gentiles are able to relate to this emanation. Being offspring of Isaac, who represented the next "lower" emanation גבורה, the descendants of Esau also could access that emanation. Having delineated the above exceptions, the 70 nations can access only the שרים ומזלות which we have already described. The inability of these 70 nations to access the emanations of either חסד or גבורה explains why the touching by members of such nations disqualifies wine, an expression of G–d's bounty. All this because of the pollutant of the serpent which spread through mankind as a result of Eve having squeezed out the fruit of the tree of knowledge (reputedly the grape). It thus became what is termed in our portion (29,17) פורה ראש ולענה, "a fruit turning into poison weed and wormwood." Concerning this type of wine, Solomon (Proverbs 23,31) has said: "Do not look at wine when it is red." Since the emanation בינה is not exposed to the "touch" of the Gentiles, the wine we find in that domain is the kind of which our sages have said that it has been preserved in its original grapes ever since the six days of Creation, in order to be served up to the righteous in the Hereafter (Berachot 34b). This is an allusion to the six "revealed" days of Creation remaining as they are, i.e. accessible to contact by the Gentiles. The six days of Creation known as the days of בנין, the concealed aspect of the work of Creation, serve as an area in which this wine is stored for the eventual enjoyment by the righteous. The penitent must elevate himself to a level that qualifies him to partake of that wine in the future. He is able to burst the confining shackles of the קליפות, symbols of the constraints imposed upon him by the evil urge, so that he can rejoin the mainstream of the Jewish people. The בעל תשובה together with the other righteous will then experience the revelation of G–d's secrets as a result of having partaken of this wine. This is the meaning of Psalms 25,14: "G–d's secrets are reserved for those who fear Him." The numerical value of the word סוד, secret, is 70. It alludes to the 70 who formed the nucleus of the Jewish people who first went down to Egypt. Because they were all a single "person," נפש, they all have a share in the World to Come. It is known to Kabbalists that the emanation בינה is the mystical dimension of the World to Come, a domain where G–d and His Name are One and where a unified people of Israel cleave to Him. It is only the people of Israel who are referred to by the title אדם; by describing the creation of אדם as "in G–d's likeness" (Genesis 1,26), the Torah concurrently refers to the creation of the Jewish people. When we reflect on the respective meanings of אדם and אדמה, earth, we must conjure up in our minds that it is the function of this אדם to serve as the מרכבה, carrier, or better אדמה of G–d's Presence. G–d is perceived as sitting on a throne. The throne is standing on this אדמה, i.e. is supported by אדם, the Jewish people. It follows that any misconduct by Israel in our terrestrial spheres undermines the "floor" on which G–d's throne is based.

מי האיש אשר בנה בית חדש ולא חנכו ילך וישוב לביתו . The same rule applies to someone who has planted a vineyard and not consecrated it, or to someone who is betrothed to a girl and has not yet wed her. Remember that there are three periods each of which is described as עולם הבא, "the World to Come," as we know from the Sabbath morning prayer הכל יודוך. In our liturgy we describe these various periods of time as 1) חיי העולם הבא, 2) ימות המשיח, 3) תחיית המתים. The period described as חיי העולם הבא refers to a "home," i.e. a dwelling equipped with the type of furnishings that are in keeping with the relative merit each righteous person has achieved during his lifetime on earth. The period called ימות המשיח refers to the period when man and woman join in matrimony, i.e. when G–d and the mystical equivalent of the Jewish people called כנסת ישראל form a permanent bond. This period is referred to by the prophet Isaiah 62,5: "As a youth espouses a maiden, your sons shall espouse Me; and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your G–d rejoice over you." After this period called תחיית המתים, "the resurrection of the dead," there comes the period of eternity, something which has not been described by any prophet since none have been shown it. Our sages have alluded to this period as the period of the יין המשומר בענביו מששת ימי בראשית והוא כרם השם צבאות, a period when wine will be served which has been preserved in its grapes ever since the six days of Creation. G–d regards this as His personal vineyard. A sinner has to return home instead of fighting in the war called מלחמת רשות. A sinner is a person who has not yet completed his preparations for entry into any of these phases of the World to Come. The Torah merely alludes to this by giving examples of people who have undertaken three different types of crucial enterprises without having completed their tasks. When the Torah stresses that anyone of these three categories of people is to ישוב לביתו "return" home, this is a not so subtle hint to the sinner to engage in repentance, תשובה.

We have learned in Avot 4,21, that "jealousy, lust, greed, and ego (i.e. the desire for public recognition) drive man from this world." These very negative virtues had driven Adam from the world. There was the jealousy of the serpent of Adam possessing Eve, its pursuit to gratify its lust, and the pursuit of ego, i.e. Adam and Eve wanted to usurp the unique place of G–d in the universe, since they responded to the lure והייתם כאלוקים, "you will be like G–d." Eve had squeezed out a cluster of grapes, ate it, found that they were unripe. This suggests that in this material world one must not pursue honor. Honor will be inherited by the scholars in the world to come. At that time what is written in Isaiah 24,23: "G–d's Presence will be revealed to His elders," will be fulfilled. This is what is meant when the sages describe יין המשומר, "well aged wine," as being part of the reward in store for the righteous in the future. Concerning what happens to the wicked at that time, it is written in Malachi 3,19: "For lo! that day is at hand, burning like a furnace.. All the arrogant and doers of evil shall be straw, etc." It also says in Samuel II 22,9: "smoke rose from His nostrils," i.e. when G–d was angry, and burned those whom He was angry at." Since we have shown that what happens on earth has its counterpart in the heavens, the Torah reports that the season the spies were dispatched was when the grape harvest commences on earth, i.e. a hint that many grapes are not ripe yet. The spies ignored the items mentioned in Avot as destructive. They ate unripe grapes, i.e they were greedy, they were concerned with their own honor and glory, hence they had to suffer what is described in Proverbs 10,26.