Musar על שבת 64:2

Students of esoteric meanings of the Torah are also aware that the root of roots of the soul reposes in the emanation בינה, as we know from ונשמת שדי תבינם, “and the soul of Shaddai that gives them (man) understanding” (Job 32,8). The three levels of our soul נפש-רוח-נשמה, correspond to the world on three different levels, the עולם העשיה, עולם היצירה,-and עולם הבריאה. In the still higher world of אצילות these parts of the soul are found in the emanations מלכות-תפארת,-and בינה respectively. The Kabbalists have explained at length that this is where the source of vows is found. The word שבועה oath, is closely linked to שבעה, i.e. the seven days of Creation. These seven days are the time frame of the “building” of the world, בנין, again a word almost identical with בינה. A vow, נדר, is called such when the person making the vow prefaces it with the words: הרי עלי וגו', meaning that it is an obligation over and beyond that which emanates from בנין. Our sages in Sifri Mattot 4, describe the difference between the relative strength of a vow and an oath as being that he who utters a vow is as if he swears by the “life of the king,” whereas he who utters an oath is as if he swears by “the king himself.” The author to buttress his contention, quotes Kings II 2, where Elisha says to Elijah: חי השם וחי נפשך אם אעזבך, “as the Lord lives, and as you live, I will not leave you!” This may be why the Talmud (Shabbat 32b) teaches that the death of one's under-aged children and possibly the death of one's wife are retribution for a person's failure to keep one's vows. All this is because בינה is the by אם על הבנים, “mother of the children.” When one violates that principle, either the mother or the children may disappear, i.e. die. Kabbalists have seen an acronym in the word נדר, dividing it into נ=50, and דר, “dwells.” The reference is to the emanation בינה, which is the source of the חמישים שערי בינה, “the fifty gates of insight.” We already stated that בינה is the location of נשמת שדי, and that the whole subject of נדרים) revolves around בינה which is the root of בנין, and that שבועה is part of בנין which is שבעה.

Therefore, the man whose heart has been touched by fear of the L-rd will see to it to exert himself in supporting Torah, so that payment not be exacted of him in the future for the blood of Israel, as it is known, that because of the sin of neglect of Torah, sons die, as we find in Tanna d'bei Eliyahu: "Whoever is in a position to protest, but does not do so, and to return Israel to the good, but does not do so, all of the blood spilled in Israel is on his hands alone, as it is written (Ezekiel 33:7): 'But you, [Ezekiel], son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel, and you have heard a thing from My mouth, and you must warn them,' [and if you do not]… he [the wicked] one shall die in his sin and I will demand his blood from your hand." And, likewise, if one stands up for the honor of the L-rd and His holy Torah, which have been desecrated now in our sins, there is no end for his reward, as we find in Yerushalmi in the last chapter of Berachoth: "If you have seen a generation which is neglectful of Torah, arise and strengthen it, and you will receive the reward of all of them."