Brazeness

עזות AZUS - BRAZENNESS:

BOOK ONE:

1. One who is brazen, it is certain that he has transgressed out of spite.

2. Brazenness comes through anger.

3. Through brazenness, one will not accept mussar (ethical criticism).

4. Through brazenness, one’s heart becomes armored and it is also certain that he has yet to repair the sins of his father.

5. One who is brazen, his rectification is to don tefillin (phylacteries) that had been on the head of a tzaddik.

6. When an evildoer acts brazenly before an upright man, this is only so that the upright one will examine his deeds.

7. One who is brazen, assuredly he is not making do with what he has.

8. The Torah is a rectification for brazenness.

9. Through brazenness, rains are withheld. And it is certain that he stumbled in a sin and, in the end, will stumble in more sin. It is permitted to call him "wicked", and it is permitted to hate him, and he is from one of the 974 generations [that were to precede the giving of the Torah, but because H”Y understood that the world couldn't manage that long without the Torah so he spread those generations throughout the rest of history]

10. Audacity, even against Heaven, is effective, but it is considered as ruling without a crown (i.e. illegitimately).