Prayer: Master of the Universe, Almighty, on the 17th of Tammuz, the Day When Malchus d'Atzilus is Revealed Through Rectification

First, as it is stated: "And it came to pass, as soon as he came near to the camp, that he saw the calf... and he cast the tablets out of his hands." It is also written that in the fourth month (Tammuz), on the ninth day of the month, the city walls were breached. Then the king fled between the two walls, going by way of the Arabah, but they overtook him in the plains of Jericho. They passed judgment upon him, slaughtered his sons before his eyes, and blinded the eyes of Tzidkiyahu. Then, "He proclaimed a set time against me" (Lamentations 1:15), and Yehoyachin went up to the roof of the Sanctuary, threw the keys upward, and a hand emerged from heaven and received them.

Furthermore, the tribe of Binyamin was decimated, and only 600 men remained, among them Saul.

The daily Tamid offering was abolished.

Turnus Rufus burned the Torah.

Menashe placed an idol in the Sanctuary, for Menashe would slaughter 1,000 men a day over the course of 22 years. And now, on the 17th of Tammuz, the Kingship of Hashem—Malchus d'Atzilus (the Divine Kingship of the World of Emanation)—is revealed eye to eye. This happens through the opening of 480 million gates of Gehenna. Through these gates, the wicked souls who caused the destruction of the Holy Temple are brought out, twenty-one days before Tisha B'Av. Hashem nullifies from these wicked individuals the harsh decree of "their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched," twenty-one days before Tisha B'Av.

Immediately, they behold the face of the Shechinah (Divine Presence). Furthermore, the tzaddikim who never sinned—yet were presented with endless temptations and opportunities to sin which they resisted—receive their reward on that day multiplied many times over. This is the mystical secret of the verse, "for she has received double for all her sins."

As for the baalei teshuvah (penitents) who broke their hearts before Hashem over every single sin, they will merit to resurrect the dead. As the verse states: "And when the wicked turns from his wickedness, and does that which is lawful and right, upon them he shall live" (Ezekiel 33:19). The verse does not say "in them," but rather "upon them," teaching that through these deeds, one will merit eternal life. They will live eternally like Serach the daughter of Asher and Batya the daughter of Pharaoh, who live forever alongside the tzaddikim, the pious, the pure, the upright, the doers of loving-kindness, and the masters of charity, emunah (faith), and Torah. Moreover, these repentant souls are elevated and seated in the Heavenly Yeshiva, where they hear Torah directly from the mouth of Hashem Himself.

For on the 17th of Tammuz, all sins are forgiven for anyone who does teshuvah (repentance) with a whole heart. At that time, all barren women are blessed with children, because souls are drawn from the highest transcendent realms, and all the spiritual worlds ascend to Malchus d'Atzilus. This is the spiritual place where the Holy Ark and Korach were hovering in the air. Therefore, immediately following the Torah portions of Korach, Chukas, and Balak comes the 17th of Tammuz. At this time, the rectification of the Hebrew letter Kuf is completed. The leg of the Kuf descends below the baseline, symbolizing a descent straight into Gehenna to extract the souls of the wicked who will do teshuvah for causing the Temple's destruction through their evil deeds—whether through the desecration of Shabbos, sexual immorality, bloodshed, or other sins. Because these souls accepted the judgment of Gehenna with love, all their sins are atoned for, and they merit on the 17th of Tammuz to ascend and hear Torah from Hashem in His full glory. Therefore, it is said of them, "he shall surely live." Anyone who does teshuvah on the 17th of Tammuz merits to extract myriads upon myriads of souls from the judgment of Gehenna—transforming them into masters of charity, emunah, and Torah. He elevates them and seats them in the Heavenly Yeshiva, where they hear Torah directly from the Holy One, Blessed be He, after rectifying all three aspects of the letter Kuf, whose "feet go down to death" (Proverbs 5:5).

Because the very moment a person accepts the judgment of Gehenna with love, he immediately emerges from there and merits to sit in the Heavenly Yeshiva. The archangels Gabriel and Michael go and open 480 million gates of Gehenna, extracting the wicked who performed true teshuvah and justified the Divine decree upon themselves. Through the sin of Adam HaRishon (the First Man), five destructive spiritual forces became mixed into the Nation of Israel: the Nephilim (fallen ones), Gibborim (mighty ones), Anakim (giants), Rephaim (phantoms), and Amalekim (Amalekites). This is what we read in Parashas Chukas regarding the King of Arad. He is the king of all the Arodim (venomous serpents/wild beasts), about whom the Talmud says: "Woe to the man who is attacked by an Arod, and woe to the Arod that attacks Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa." From the very bones of the wicked Bilam came all the Arodim in the world, because he caused a spiritual separation between the Matriarchs Rachel and Leah, causing the "heels of Leah" to detach from the "crown of Rachel." Kabbalistically, the numerical values and spiritual roots align: Bilam and Balak correspond to the corrupted counterparts of Rachel and Leah, which manifests as Arad. Therefore, only Mashiach ben David, who is called Migdal Eder (the Tower of the Flock)—as the Targum translates, "And he will come from Migdal Eder"—will be able to rectify all the Arodim, Amalekim, Nephilim, Gibborim, Rephaim, and Anakim. These are embodied by the giant kings Sichon and Og and their cohorts, who cohabited with the daughters of men and defiled them with their impurity. Because of this deep-rooted impurity, the Holy Temple was destroyed. Even Moshe Rabbeinu was not sufficiently wary of them. Consequently, these specific root forces of evil have no rectification—neither in the days of Mashiach nor at the Resurrection of the Dead. They descend for all generations into Sheol and Avadon (the lowest depths of the abyss) and never emerge. For every sin there is teshuvah, except for the core essence of the Amalekim, Anakim, Rephaim, Nephilim, and Gibborim, who "cast their terror in the land of the living." An example of this is King Jeroboam and his cohorts, about whom it is written, "brimstone and salt, a burning of the whole land." Hashem deeply desired to find merit for Jeroboam; He grabbed his garment and pleaded with him, "I, you, and the son of Yishai (King David) will stroll together in the Garden of Eden!" But Jeroboam rejected the offer of the Holy One, Blessed be He. This was because Jeroboam's soul was rooted in the Nephilim, whom absolutely nothing in the world can bring back in teshuvah. They are judged for all generations and fail to attach themselves to the archangels Michael and Gabriel, who attempt to pull souls out of Gehenna. The Geulah (Redemption) will take place on the 17th of Tammuz, reflecting the mystical secret of the verse, "for a time, times, and a half" (Daniel 12:7). This alludes to the secret connection between Tisha B'Av and the 17th of Tammuz, which was prophesied by Gabriel, the "man clothed in linen." This is why, on Yom Kippur, the High Priest enters the Holy of Holies wearing exclusively linen garments. Through this service, they elevate all the souls of the wicked, whose spiritual root is associated with linen. This was the underlying intention of Cain when he brought an offering of linen (flax). However, Cain's fatal mistake was that he failed to mix the linen with wool—which represents the mystical secret of the Ten Types of Melody (the Tikkun HaKlali). For it is only through these ten melodies that the Resurrection of the Dead will ultimately take place.