25. "And I will give you peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid" (Vayikra 26:6). Rabbi Yosi opened the discussion with the verse: "Tremble, and sin not..." (Tehilim 4:5). This verse has been explained. It behooves man to have his Good Inclination cause his Evil one to tremble. This is well. But when night falls and man lies in his bed, numerous seekers of Judgment, NAMELY DAMAGING DEMONS, stir up in the world and go and roam about. Thus, men should tremble before the Holy One, blessed be He, and fear Him so that their souls will not be among them, but will be saved from them. It behooves one not to utter one word of them, NAMELY, NOT TO SPEAK OF THEM AT ALL, so as not to rouse them against him, and so that they will not be with him. Hence, it says, "commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still" (Ibid.), WHICH MEANS that one must not talk about them.
26. Come and behold: when Yisrael are found meritorious before the Holy One, blessed be He, it is written: "And I will give peace in the land." This is up above, as the Holy One, blessed be He, comes to join the Congregation of Yisrael, AS "PEACE" MEANS YESOD, AND "THE LAND" IS MALCHUT. Then, "you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid." Why? Because "I will remove evil beasts out of the land." This is an evil kind of beast that is down below. Which? Igeret, the daughter of Machalat, AN EVIL KLIPAH, and all her companions. This is by night. By day, THE VERSE, "AND I WILL REMOVE EVIL BEASTS OUT OF THE LAND," ALLUDES TO men from her side WHO CAUSE DAMAGE IN THE WORLD. This is the meaning of, "neither shall the sword go through your land" (Vayikra 26:6).
27. Rabbi Aba said: It has been explained that even a sword of peace SHALL NOT "GO THROUGH YOUR LAND," as in the case of Pharaoh Necho, WHO WANTED TO PASS THROUGH THE LAND OF YISRAEL, BUT THE KING JOSIAH DID NOT PERMIT IT. THE MEANING of, "neither shall the sword go through your land," alludes to her companions, WHO COME FROM THE SIDE OF THE SAID KLIPAH. "I will remove evil beasts out of the land," means that THE KLIPAH ITSELF shall not have dominion over the land, nor shall it even go through - not the sword of the other nations, and not even one armed person shall pass you.
28. This is what king Josiah asked for WHEN HE DID NOT ALLOW THE SOLDIERS OF PHARAOH NECHO TO GO THROUGH THE LAND. It has been explained that he was caught in the sins of Yisrael AND WAS THEREFORE KILLED, as it is written, "The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Hashem, was taken in their pits" (Eichah 4:20). We must examine this, for we learned that if the leader of the people is good, the whole world is saved due to his merit. If the leader of the people is not honest, the whole people are caught for his sin. Yet why was Josiah, who was a worthy leader of honest deeds, caught in Yisrael's sins?
29. AND HE ANSWERS: This happened because he did not believe Jeremiah, and did not admonish Yisrael TO REPENT, for he thought they were all as righteous as he was. Yirmeyah told him of this, but he did not believe him and was therefore caught in their sins. Moreover, the moon, MALCHUT, had then the lowest light, and was about to be completely blocked, SINCE IT WAS NEAR THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE.