Abraham

 

Awakening and Desire

Lech Lecha [Go Forth]

28) Since the Creator saw his awakening and his desire, He immediately revealed Himself to him and told him, “Go forth,” to know yourself and to correct yourself.

223) “Who has aroused one from the east” is Abraham, who took the awakening to the Creator only from the east because when he saw the sun rising in the morning from the east, he took an awakening for himself, which is the Creator. He said about the sun, “This is the King who created me,” and he worshipped the sun the whole day. In the evening, he saw that the sun was setting and the moon rose. He said about the moon, “This one must be ruling the worship that he was worshipping the whole of that day, the sun, since the sun had darkened before the moon and does not shine.” Thus, he worshipped the moon the whole of that night.

224) In the morning, he saw that the moon darkened and the east illuminated. He said, “There must be a king and a ruler over all those, who leads them.” When the Creator saw Abraham’s desire, He appeared before him and spoke to him, as it is written, “He calls in righteousness to His feet.” Righteousness is the Creator, who called him and spoke to him and appeared before him.

And Abram Took Sarai

Lech Lecha [Go Forth]

58) “And Abram took Sarai his wife.” This is extension in good things because man is forbidden to take his wife out to another land against her will. It is also written, “Take Aaron,” meaning take the Levites. This is why “And Abram took” is extension in things, and he alerted her how evil were the ways of the people of the generation. This is why it writes, “And Abram took Sarai his wife.”

59) “And Lot his nephew.” Why did Abraham see fit to attach Lot to himself? It was because he saw in the spirit of holiness that David was destined to come out of him.

“And the souls that they had made in Haran” are the converted men and women who corrected their souls. Abraham would convert the men, and Sarah would convert the women, and this is why the writing speaks about them as though they had made them.

Abraham and Sarah Purifying the People of the World

VaYaera [And the Lord Appeared]

106) Abraham and Sarah were setting up Tevila for every person—he for the men and she for the women. The reason why Abraham engaged in purifying people is that he was pure and he was called “pure,” as it is written, “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one,” and Abraham is pure who came out of Terah, who was unclean.

107) This is why Abraham engaged in Tevila, to correct the degree of Abraham. And his degree is water, Hassadim, for which he was made to purify all the people in the world with water.

Beer Sheba

New Zohar, Toldot [Generations]

28) Abraham named that well of water, Malchut, Beer Sheba…

31) Abraham dug that well. He established it because he taught all the people of the world to serve the Creator. And since he dug it, it put forth living waters that never end.

An Incarnation of Adam HaRishon

BaHar [On Mount Sinai]

69) Adam’s sin was that he broke the Creator’s commandment. But there are no commandments except on idol worshipping. He transgressed with idol worshipping, and He put him, meaning incarnated him in the seed of Terah, in which he fumed, meaning angered the Creator and broke the commandment of idol worshipping, for Terah was an idol worshipper. And he came out of the seed of Abraham, who was an incarnation of Adam HaRishon. Abraham repented and broke the statutes of idol worshipping and all the foods that were placed before them. He corrected what Adam and Terah sinned, and broke the sin and the evil structure that he built, the structure of the Klipot that Adam caused by his sin, and enthroned the Creator and His Divinity over the whole world.

Gifts to the Sons of the Concubines

Chayei Sarah [The Life of Sarah]

262) “But unto the sons of the concubines… gifts.” What are gifts? Those are lower degrees of holiness, which are uncorrected. They are names of types of spirits of impurity. He gave it to them to complete the degrees, so they would purify them and complement the degrees of holiness. And Isaac rose above all of them in the high faith, which is Bina.

263) “The sons of the concubines” are the sons of Keturah. She is called “concubines” since she was a concubine before he sent her away. And she is a concubine now since he took her again. “And he sent them away from Isaac his son,” so they would not rule over Isaac. “While he was still alive,” while Abraham still lived and exited in the world, so they would not quarrel with him later, and so that Isaac would be corrected in the side of the harsh, high Din, to prevail over all of them. And they all surrendered before him. “Eastward” means to the land in the east since there are various kinds of witchcraft and impurity there.

264) It is written, “And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east,” meaning all those who were from the sons of Abraham’s concubines. And in those mountains of the east are those who teach wizardry to people. And Laban, Beor, and Balaam, his son, and all the wizards came from that land in the east.

Book of Wisdom of the Predecessors

VaYaera [And the Lord Appeared]

80) Rabbi Aba said, “One day, I came across a city that was one of those that were in the east, and I was told of that wisdom that they knew since the old days. They found their books of wisdom and presented me with such a book.”

88) I told them, “My sons, the words in the book are close to words of Torah. But you must stay away from these books lest they will divert your hearts to these works and to all those sides it mentions here. You might stray from the work of the Creator.”

89) This is so because all those books mislead people, since the sons of the east were wise and inherited this wisdom from Abraham, who gave to the sons of the maidservants, as it is written, ‘But unto the sons of the concubines that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts,’ and afterwards they were drawn in this wisdom to several directions.

90) But the seed of Isaac, the share of Jacob, is not so, as it is written, “And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.” This is the holy share of the faith to which Abraham adhered, and it is from this lot and from this side that Jacob came. It is written about it, “And behold, the Lord stood above him,” and it is written, “But you… My servant, Jacob.”

These Are the Generations of the Heaven and the Earth when They Were Created

Lech Lecha [Go Forth]

225) “Speak righteousness and declare things that are right.” All of the Creator’s words are true. “And declare things that are right” because when the Creator created the world, the world did not stand, but collapsed to this side and to that side. The Creator said to the world, “Why are you falling?” It told Him, “Dear Lord, I cannot stand because I have no foundation [ Yesod] on which to stand.”

226) The Creator told it, “Thus, I will place a righteous one within you, Abraham, who will love Me.” And the world immediately stood and existed. It is written, “These are the generations of the heaven and the earth when they were created.” Do not read it, BeHibar’am [when they were created], but BeAvraham [in Abraham, same letters in Hebrew], since the world existed in Abraham.

227) The world replied to the Creator, “Abraham is destined to beget sons who will destroy the Temple and burn the Torah.” The Creator told it, “One man will come out of him, Jacob, and twelve tribes will come out of him, all of which are righteous.” Promptly, the world existed for him.

Book of Creation

New Zohar, Yitro [Jethro]

309) Certainly, Jacob had the book of Adam HaRishon, as well as the book Enoch, and The Book of Creation by Abraham the patriarch. They commented that Masechet Avodah Zarah [the treatise Idolatry] by Abraham the patriarch constituted 400 chapters.

From all those books, Jacob the patriarch, the whole man, living in tents, learned much wisdom. And the beauty and lines of Jacob were as the lines of Adam HaRishon.

Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Rebecca

Lech Lecha [Go Forth]

76) The Creator implies to upper Hochma, in Abraham and Isaac. Abraham is Neshama to Neshama, light of Haya. Neshama is Sarah. Lot is the serpent, SAM’s mate. The spirit of holiness is Isaac. The holy Nefesh is Rebecca, and the evil inclination is the spirit of the beast. In his wisdom, Solomon says about him, “Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the beast, whether it goes downward to the earth?” The spirit of the beast is a Nefesh from the side of the evil inclination.

77) Neshama to Neshama comes to man from the Sefira of Hochma, with fear and with wisdom. The Neshama comes to man in Bina, as it is written, “Behold, the fear of the Lord is wisdom.” Hence, Neshama to Neshama comes only through fear and wisdom. But the Neshama comes to a person through repentance, which is called Bina, and is called “Sarah.” Ruach [spirit/wind] is called “voice,” and it is called Daat, and it extends to a man who raises his voice in Torah. The Ruach is also called “Written Torah.” The good deeds extend from the Nefesh of the mind.

Neshama to Neshama and NRN extend from HBD:

• The Neshama to Neshama, Abraham, extends from the Sefira of Hochma.
• The Neshama, Sarah, extends from the Sefira of Bina.
• The Ruach, Isaac, extends from the Sefira of Daat; it is the right of the Daat.
• The Nefesh, Rebecca, extends from the Sefira of Daat, which is the left of the Daat.

78) Similarly, the Creator created the body out of four basic elements: Fire, wind, dust, and water, similar to Neshama to Neshama, Neshama, Ruach, and Nefesh. Neshama to Neshama is Water; Neshama is fire; Ruach is wind; and Nefesh is dust.

Water is male, like Neshama to Neshama, which comes from Hochma. This is sweet water of Kedusha, and opposite that is the water that causes a curse, which are the evil inclination, SAM.

There is a holy fire, female, like the Neshama that comes from Bina. Opposite it is the strange fire, of which it is written, “That he shall not enter at any time into the holy place,” which is the Nukva from the side of the evil inclination, the serpent, the Nukva of SAM.

The holy Ruach is male, like the wind that comes from the Sefira of Daat. Opposite it is an impure Ruach, the evil inclination. It is said about it, “Out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a basilisk,” meaning the spirit of the beast, which is called “a basilisk,” which is an offspring of the serpent of impurity, from the impure Bina.

And there is holy dust, like the Nefesh that comes from the left of Daat. Opposite it is the impure dust, the beastly Nefesh from the side of the evil inclination.

79) Hence, the Neshama, which is repentance, Bina, assails that serpent to break it by the power of enslavement of the penance, drawing him to the assembly houses and seminaries.

 

Love

 

 

Love of Friends

 

From War To Brotherly love

Aharei Mot [After the Death]

65) How good and how pleasant. These are the friends, as they sit together inseparably. At first, they seem like people at war, wishing to kill each other. Then they revert back to a state of brotherly love. The Creator, what does He say about them? “How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity.” The word, “together” indicates the presence of Divinity with them. Moreover, the Creator listens to their words and He is pleased and content with them. This is the meaning of the words, “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him.”

66) And you, the friends who are here, as you were in fondness and love before, you will not part henceforth, until the Creator rejoices with you and summons peace upon you. And by your merit, there will be peace in the world. This is the meaning of the words, “For the sake of my brothers and my friends let me say, ‘Let peace be in you.’”

Love of Friends

Ki Tissa [When You Take]

54) All those friends, who do not love each other, depart the world before their time. All the friends in Rashbi’s time had love of soul and love of spirit among them. This is why in his generation, the secrets of Torah were revealed. Rabbi Shimon would say, “All the friends who do not love each other cause themselves to stray from the right path. Moreover, they put a blemish in the Torah, since there is love, brotherhood, and truth in the Torah. Abraham loved Isaac; Isaac loved Abraham; and they were embraced. And they were both gripping Jacob with love and brotherhood, and were giving their spirits in one another. The friends should be like them, and not blemish them, for if love is lacking in them, they will blemish their value above, that is, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, which are HGT.”

New Zohar, Hukot [statutes]

107) “How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together.” Dwelling together means bonding of the brother, Zeir Anpin, with Tzedek [justice], Malchut. “Also” [the word appears only in the Hebrew text] comes to include Israel, who are the assembly for this unification.

Revealing the Secrets of Torah—to Friends

Pinhas

709) These words are unclear and need to be explained for the friends, for one who closes before them the secrets of the Torah pains them. For the wicked, the lights of the secrets become darkness to them.

This is like concealed money. For one who digs until he finds it, and it is not his, it turns in his mind into darkness and gloom. But for the one that it is his, it shines. This is the reason why one should reveal the hidden secrets of Torah to the friends.

Dwelling in a Place of Men of Action

Bo [Come unto Pharaoh]

138) For this reason, one should always dwell only in a place where men of action dwell, since woe unto one who dwells among the wicked, for he is caught for their transgression. And if one dwells among the righteous, he is rewarded for their merit.

Parting from the Wicked

VaEra [And I Appeared]

176) When the friends are on the way, they should go with one heart. If there are wicked ones walking among them or people who are not from the King’s palace, they should part them, as it is written, “But My servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him,” meaning that he separated from the spies, as it is written, “And they went up into the South, and came unto Hebron.” It should have said “came” in plural form. But because he parted with the spies and came to Hebron alone to visit the graves of the fathers, it writes “came” in singular form.

Drilling a Hole in the Boat

Nasso [Take]

18) Anyone who clings to the Creator and keeps the commandments of the Torah seemingly sustains the worlds—the world above and the world below, as it is written, “And do them.”

19) And anyone who breaches the commandments of the Torah seemingly blemishes above, blemishes below, blemishes himself, and blemishes all the worlds. There is an allegory about sailors who were sailing in a boat. One fool among them rose and wished to puncture the boat. His friend told him, “Why are you puncturing the boat?” He replied, “Why should you care? I am drilling under me!” He told him, “But we are both drowning in the boat together!”

Friends Who Engage in Torah Are Protected

VaEtchanan [I Pleaded]

32) In all of one’s actions, he should see the Creator before him. Anyone who is walking along the road, who fears robbers, should aim for three things—a gift, a prayer, and a war—as did Jacob when he feared Esau. However, the most important of them is the prayer. But even though prayer is the most important, two or three friends engaging in words of Torah is the most important of all, for they do not fear robbers because Divinity is connected to them, for they are engaged in Torah.

 

Light

 

Shines Gradually Brighter Until the Day Is Set

VaYishlach [Jacob Sent]

90) When the Creator erects Israel and delivers them from exile, a very small and thin vent of light shall open to them. And then another, a little bigger opening will open for them, until the Creator opens for them the upper gates that are open to the four directions of the world. It is so that their salvation will not appear at once, but like the dawn, which shines gradually brighter until the day is set.

91) And all that the Creator does to Israel and to the righteous among them, when He delivers them bit by bit and not all at once, is like a person who is in the dark and has always been in the dark. When you want to give him light, you first need to light a small light, like the eye of a needle, and then a little bigger. Thus, every time some more until all the light properly shines for him.

92) Such are Israel. And also, one who is healed is not healed at once. Rather, it comes bit by bit until he is healed. But for Esau, it shone at once, and gradually waned, until Israel grow strong and blot him out from the whole of this world and from the next world. And because the day lit up for him at once, he had ruin from everything. But the light of Israel gradually increases until they gain strength and the Creator shines for them forever.

Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama (NRN)

Lech Lecha [Go Forth]

158) Nefesh is a low awakening that clings to the Guf, like candlelight, whose bottom light is black, clings to the wick, does not depart it, and is corrected only in it. And when the black light is corrected and grips to the wick, it becomes a throne to the white light atop it, for it hovers over the black light. And that white light corresponds to the light of Ruach.

159) Once they are both corrected, the black light and the white light atop it, the white light becomes a throne to a hidden light, and it is not seen or known that it hovers over the white light. It corresponds to the light of Neshama, and then it is a complete light. Thus, there are three lights one atop the other in a candlelight:

1) The black light that clings to the wick, below all the others;

2) the white light over the black light; and

3) the hidden, unknown light over the white light.

Similarly, a man who is complete in everything has three lights one atop the other, NRN, as with the candlelight. And then a man is called “holy,” as it is written, “As for the holy that are in the earth.”

The Hidden Light in which the World Exists

Emor [Speak]

3) “How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You.” “How great is Your goodness,” meaning how sublime and precious is the Upper Light called, “good,” as it is written, “And God saw the light, that it was good.” This is the hidden light, with which the Creator does good in the world. He does not deny it every day, for in it is the world sustained, and upon it does it stand.

“…which You have stored up for those who fear You.” The Creator made the Upper Light when He created the world, and hid it for the righteous in the future, as it is written, “…which You have stored up for those who fear You, which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You.” There are two kinds of light: 1) the hidden light for the righteous in the future, which does not shine in the world; 2) the light that is called “good,” which extends from the hidden light and shines in the world every day, and which sustains the world.

Ein Sof—Having No End

Pekudei [Accounts]

360) Their Dvekut [adhesion] rises up to Ein Sof. This is so because every connection and unity and perfection is to hide and conceal that which is unattainable and unknown, that the desire of all desires is for him, meaning Ein Sof. Ein Sof is neither about to be known nor to become a Sof [end], nor to become a Rosh [head/beginning]. It is also not like the first absence, Keter, which educed Rosh and Sof— Rosh being the uppermost point. This is the concealed head of everything, and stands within the thought, Hochma, since Hochma emerged from Keter, as it is written, “But wisdom, where shall it be found?” It made an end, called “the end of the matter,” Malchut, the end of all the lights. But there, in Ein Sof, there is no end.

 

Letters

 

Creation of the World with Letters

VaYigash [Then Judah Approached]

2) Everything was created in the Torah, and everything was perfected in the Torah. And as the Torah begins with Bet, the world was created in Bet. This is so because before the Creator created the world, the Nukva, all the letters came before Him and entered one at a time in reverse order, in the order of Tav–Shin-Reish-Kof and not in the order of Aleph-Bet-Gimel-Dalet.

3) The letter Tav came before Him and said, “You wish to create the world with me.” The Creator replied, “I do not, since many righteous are destined to die in you. It is written about it, ‘And set a mark [Hebrew: Tav] upon the foreheads of the men,’ and it is written, ‘And begin at My sanctuary’; do not pronounce, ‘At My sanctuary,’ but rather, ‘At My sanctified,’ who are the righteous. This is why the world will not be created in you.”

4) The three letters, Shin–Kof-Reish, approached each on his own. The Creator told them, “You are unfit for the world to be created in you for you are the letters used for reading Sheker [deceit/falsehood], and a lie is unworthy of rising before Me.”

5) The letters Peh and Tzadik approached, and so did all of them until they reached the letter Chaf. When the Chaf descended from the Keter [Keter written with Chaf in Hebrew], the upper ones and the lower ones were shaken, until everything came to exist in the letter Bet, which is the sign for Beracha [blessing], and in it, the world was perfected and created.

6) But the Aleph is the head of all the letters, so should the world not have been created with it? Yes, indeed, but since Arur [cursed] is read with it, the world was not created in it. Thus, although Aleph is a letter from above, the world was not created in it so as to not give strength and fortification to the Sitra Achra, who is called “cursed,” hence the world was not created in her. Instead, the world was perfected and created in Bet.

The Letter Bet

Shmini [On the Eighth Day]

4) Why is the letter Bet [ב] open on one side and closed on the other side? When a person comes to join with the Torah, it is open to receive him and partake with him. And when a person shuts his eyes to her and goes by another way, she is blocked from the other side, like the Bet, as it is written, “If you forsake me for one day, I will forsake you for two days,” and he will not find the opening until he reconnects with the Torah face-to-face and will not depart it. Hence, the Torah opens, calling upon people and declaring and summoning them, “To you, O men, I call.”

5) Bet has a shape of two roofs and one line that connects them. One roof points up, toward the heaven, and this is ZA, and one roof points down toward the earth, and this is Malchut. And the Creator, Yesod, grips them and receives them.

6) The three upper lights, three lines, which are clung together are the whole of the Torah, and they open doors to all. They open doors and impart upon faith, meaning Malchut, and they are home to all. This is why they are called, “house,” since they are the three lines in the Bet, implying the three lines of ZA, which are a house. And this is why the Torah begins with Bet, since she is the Torah, and the cure for the world.

Five Outlets of the Mouth

Lech Lecha [Go Forth]

79) …And those four elements, which are four Behinot [discernments], Hochma, Bina, Tifferet, and Malchut, spread into twenty-two letters that come out of the five outlets of the mouth: Aleph-Het-Hey-Ayin from the throat; Bet-Vav-Mem-Peh from the lips; Gimel-Yod-Chaf-Kof from the palate; Dalet-Tet-Lamed-Nun-Tav from the tongue; and Zayin-Samech-Shin-Reish-Tzadik from the teeth.

Those five outlets correspond to Keter. HB and TM are the four elements—water, fire, wind, and dust. The four elements are the five outlets of the mouth, in which the twenty-two letters spread.

Letters—Males and Females

VaYetze [Jacob Went Out]

261) All twenty-seven letters in the [Hebrew] alphabet are male and female, included in one another as one. The letters that belong to the right and to the left are males and those that belong to the middle line are females. The male letters impart upper water, and the female letters raise MAN, and everything bonds and becomes one. This is the complete unification. Hence, one who knows how to make those unifications and is cautious with aiming them, happy is he in this world and in the next world because this is the essence of the complete unification as it should be.

 

Men and Women

 

 

Exile and Redemption

 

On My Bed at Night

Ki Tazria [When a Woman Delivers]

1) “On my bed night after night I sought him whom my soul loves.” The assembly of Israel spoke before the Creator and asked Him about the exile, since she is seated among the rest of the nations with her children, and she lies in the dust. And because she is lying in another land, impure one, she said, “I ask on my bed, for I am lying in exile,” and exile is called “nights.” Hence, “I sought him whom my soul loves,” to deliver me from it.

2) “I sought him but did not find him,” since it is not His way to mate in me, but only in His palace, and not in exile. “I called him but he did not answer me,” for I was dwelling among other nations, who do not hear his voice, but only His sons. “Did ever a people hear the voice of God?”

3) “On my bed night after night,” said the assembly of Israel, Divinity. “On my bed I was angered before Him, asking Him to mate with me to delight me—from the left line—and to bless me—from the right line—with complete joy—from the middle line.” When the king, ZA, mates with the assembly of Israel, several righteous inherit inheritance of a holy legacy, upper Mochin, and several blessings are found in the world.

Exile of Divinity

VaYikra [The Lord Called]

344) On the day when the Temple was ruined below and Israel went into exile with millstone round their necks and their hands tied behind them, the assembly of Israel, Divinity, was expelled from the King’s house, to follow them into exile. And when Divinity came down she said, “First, I will go and weep for my abode, the Temple, for my sons, Israel, and for my husband, ZA,” who has drifted from her. When she came down she saw that her place was destroyed and all the blood of the followers that was shed in it, and the Holy Palace and the House were burnt in fire.

345) Then she raised her voice in weeping, and the upper and lower were moved, and the voice reached up to the place where the King, ZA, resides. But the King wished to return the world into chaos until several battalions and several camps of angels came down to comfort her, but she turned down their comforting. It is written about that, “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel is weeping for her children, sherefuses to be comforted for her children,” since she did not receive comforting from them. “Because He is gone” means because the holy King went up and is not inside her.

346) “Rachel is weeping for her children.” It should have said that Divinity is weeping for her children. Rachel is the assembly of Israel, Divinity, Jacob’s wife, the wife of ZA, as it is written, “And Jacob loved Rachel.” It is also written, “but Rachel was barren,” and also, “Who makes the barren woman dwell in her house as a joyful mother of children.” All these verses relate to Divinity.

347) Another interpretation: “He is gone” means “none,” that is, there are none who are greater than Me in this house. “Gone,” since the Creator departed above and was removed from everything. “He is gone” means He is not in a Zivug with her. “Gone” means that His name, Divinity, is not His great Name. Rather, she is in exile.

348) From which place did Divinity begin to be disclosed? From the Temple, where she was present. Afterwards, she roamed the whole of the land of Israel. Then, when she departed the land, she stood inside the desert and sat there three days, leading the masses, the camps, and the residents from the King’s house, from Jerusalem, and calling about her, “How lonely sits the city.”

349) They were not exiled from the land of Israel and the Temple was not ruined before all of Israel were guilty before the King, and before all the leaders of the world were found guilty first, as it is written, “O My people! Those who guide you lead you astray and confuse the direction of your paths.” And when the heads of the people went with evil, the whole people followed suit.

Four Exiles

Ki Tetze [If You Go Forth]

63) There were four exiles: three corresponding the three Klipot of the nut. The first is Tohu, a green line, the green shell of the nut. The second is Bohu, moist stones, strong rocks, from which the authors of the Mishnah sentenced several sentences, and they grip to them to bring out the waters of Torah. And this is why they are called “moist stones,” since water comes out of them. The third Klipa [shell] is the thin shell of the nut, the small third exile. This is “And darkness.” The fourth exile is the great deep, the hollow of the nut, “And darkness was over the face of the deep.”

64) The fourth Klipa, the deep, is called “a pit where an ox fell,” as it is written about Joseph, “The firstborn of his ox, majesty is his.” It is written, “And threw him into the pit,” the evil Nukva of the Klipa. The empty pit is the male of the Klipa. Empty means without Torah, which is called “water.”

However, there were serpents and scorpions there, and this is the fourth exile, which is empty, without Torah, a generation of wicked, filled with serpents and scorpions, meaning that they are as deceitful as serpents and scorpions because they have uprooted the words of sages and judge falsely. It is said about them, “Her adversaries became the head.”

65) “And he looked this way and that, and when he saw there was no one” from Israel among those wicked in that generation. Instead, they were mixed multitude. This will come about at the end of the exile, and for this reason, the end of redemption is stated as the great deep, which is the fourth exile. And Moses, you went down there. The deep [ Tehom] is death [ HaMavet] with the letters inverted, and there is no death but poverty, poverty of reason. But this was sorted above, before the Tannaim and the Amoraim, who all went down to the deep in the fourth exile because of her, to help you.

Hurry, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young hart

Shemot [Exodus]

235) “Hurry, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young hart.” Every yearning that Israel yearned for the Creator is the yearning of Israel that the Creator will not go and will not walk away, but run like a gazelle or a young hart.

236) No other animal in the world does what the gazelle or the hart does. When it runs, it turns its head slightly to the place from which it came. It always turns its head back. This is what Israel said, “God Almighty, if we cause You to depart from among us, may it be that You will run like the gazelle or the young hart.” This is because it runs and turns its head to the place it had left, the place where it was before and left it and fled from there.

This is the meaning of the words, “Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so abhor them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them.” Another thing: The gazelle sleeps with one eye and is awake with the other eye. This is what Israel said to the Creator, “Do as the gazelle does, for He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”

And I Will Set My Tabernacle among You

BeHukotai [In My Statutes]

30) “And I will set My tabernacle among you.” My tabernacle is Divinity, My pawn, Divinity, was mortgaged by the iniquities of Israel because she goes into exile with them. There is an allegory about a man who loved his friend. He told him, “Certainly, because of the sublime love that I have for you, I wish to dwell with you.” His friend replied, “How will I know that you will dwell with me?” He went and took all the good things in his home and brought them to him and said, “My pawn is with you, so I will never part from you.”

31) So is the Creator. He wished to dwell with Israel. He took His treasure, Divinity, and lowered it down to Israel. He told them, “Israel, here is My pawn with you, so I will never part from you.” And although the Creator was removed from us, He left the pawn in our hands because Divinity is with us in exile and we keep His treasure. And when He asks for His pawn, He will come to dwell with us. This is why it is written, “And I will set My tabernacle among you.” “I will give you a pawn so I will dwell with you.” And even though Israel is in exile now, the Creator’s mortgage is with them and they have never left it.

32) “AndMy soul shall not abhor you.” This is similar to a man who loves his friend and wishes to dwell with him. What did he do? He took his bed and brought it to his house. He said, “Here, my bed is in your house, so I will not draw far from you, from your bed and from your vessels.” Thus said the Creator, “And I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you.” Thus, My bed, Divinity, is in your home. “And since My bed is with you, know that I will never part from you.” And for this reason, “My soul shall not abhor you,” I will not part from you.

33) “And I will walk among you, and will be your God.” Since my pawn is with you, you should know for certain that I am going with you, as it is written, “For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you, and to give up your enemies before you; therefore shall your camp be holy.”

Length of the Exile

Ki Tissa [When You Take]

21) We see, and so can the strong ones in the world, meaning the nations, that the exile is continuing and the Son of David has not come. So it is, but what makes Israel suffer this exile? It is all the promises that the Creator had promised them. They enter synagogues and seminaries and see all the comforts in the holy books, and in their hearts they are happy to suffer all that comes upon them. Had it not been for that, they would not have been able to withstand.

22) Everything depends on repentance. But they cannot all awaken to repentance together because it is written, “So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you.” It is also written, “And you call them to mind in all nations where the Lord your God has banished you.” Also, it is written, “And you shall return to the Lord your God.” And then, if the One who banished you will be at the end of the sky, from there will He gather you. And before all these things come true, they cannot be awakened by them for repentance.

23) O how You have sealed all the trails and paths from the children of the exile, and have left no possibility for them to speak, for they did not delve in redemption every single generation, did not suffer the exile, did not seek reward, departed the rules of Torah, and mingled with the rest of the nations.

24) “As the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth, she writhes and cries out in her birth pangs,” since it is the nature of a pregnant woman to wait nine whole months. But there are quite a few in the world who go through only one or two days of the ninth month, while all the pains and pangs of the pregnant woman are on the ninth. Hence, even if she only went through one day of the ninth month, it is considered as though the whole of the ninth month had passed for her. So are Israel: since they tasted the taste of exile, if they repent, it is considered for them as though they had experienced all the troubles that are written in the Torah, especially that they had experienced several pangs since the beginning of the exile.

In Its Time, I Will Hasten It

VaYera [The Lord Appeared]

454) How long should we be in exile until that time? The Creator made redemption completely dependent on whether they repent. Thus, they will be rewarded or not rewarded with redemption by whether or not they repent, as it is written, “I the Lord will hasten it in its time.” If they merit, they will repent, and “I will hasten it.” If they do not merit, they will not repent, and “in its time.”

The Allegory of the King and the Queen

VaYikra [The Lord Called]

78) In all of Israel’s exiles, He set a time and an end to all of them. And in all of them, Israel return to the Creator, and the virgin of Israel, Malchut,returns to her place at the set time. But now, in the last exile, it is not so. She will not return as in the other exiles. This verse teaches, “She has fallen; she will not rise again—the virgin of Israel,” and it does not say, “She has fallen and I will not raise her again.”

79) It is like a king who was angry with the queen and expelled her from her palace for a certain period of time. When that time was through, the queen would immediately come and return before the king. This was so once, twice, and thrice. But on the last time, she became remote from the king’s palace and the king expelled her from his palace for a long time. The king said, “This time is not as like the other times, when she came before me. Instead, I and all my household will go and seek her.”

80) When he reached her, he saw that she was lying in the dust. Who saw the glory of the queen at that time, and the king’s requests of her? Finally, the king held her in his arms, raised her, and brought her to his palace. And he swore to her that he would never part from her again and will never be far from her.

81) It is similar with the Creator: every time the assembly of Israel were in exile, she would come and return before the King. But now, in this exile, it is not so. Rather, the Creator will hold her by the hand and will raise her, appease her, and bring her back to His palace.

To the Extent of Concealment, the Extent of Disclosure

VaYera [The Lord Appeared]

453) Vav and everything appears in it, for everything appears by the perfection of the Vav. This is so because in everything that is concealed, He reveals all that is hidden, and one who is revealed will not come and reveal what is concealed.

Man is created in utter wickedness and lowliness, as it is written, “When a wild ass’s foal is born a man.” And all the vessels in one’s body, meaning the senses and the qualities, and especially the thought serve him only wickedness and nothingness all day. And for one who is rewarded with adhering unto Him, the Creator does not create other tools instead, to be worthy and suitable for reception of the eternal spiritual abundance intended for him. Rather, the same lowly vessels that have thus far been used in a filthy and loathsome way are inverted to become vessels of reception of all the pleasantness and eternal gentleness.

Moreover, each Kli whose deficiencies had been the greatest has now become the most important. In other words, the measure that they reveal is the greatest. It is so much so that if he had a Kli in his body that had no deficiencies, it has now become seemingly redundant, for it does not serve him in any way. It is like a vessel of wood or clay: the greater its deficiency, meaning its carving, the greater its capacity and the greater its importance.

And this applies in the upper worlds, as well, since no revelation is dispensed upon the worlds except through concealed discernments. And by the measure of concealment in a degree, so is the measure of revelations in it, which is given to the world. If there is no concealment in it, it cannot bestow a thing.

This is the meaning of the Vav in the name, HaVaYaH. It is ZA, whose Mochin are always in covered Hassadim and are concealed from the illumination of Hochma. This is why it will reveal the complete redemption, as it is written, “The Vav will raise the Hey.” This is so because the measure of concealment and covering in it will determine the measure of its revealing in the future. And the bottom Hey of HaVaYaH, the Nukva, where the Hassadim appear, and all the discernments of disclosure of Hochma in the worlds come only from her. And since there is no concealment in her, she cannot reveal what is concealed, meaning redemption. And although there are other concealments in the Nukva, they are nonetheless insufficient for this great disclosure of the complete redemption, since by the measure of this revelation, so must be the measure of the concealment.

The Darkness before Redemption

Beresheet [Genesis]

308) As they were walking, they saw that the dawn has paled and then the light rose. Rabbi Hizkiya said to Rabbi Yosi, “Come and I will show you that so is Israel’s redemption: When the sun of redemption shines for them, trouble after trouble will come upon them, and darkness after darkness. And when the light of the Creator shines upon them, as it is said, ‘His going forth is as sure as the dawn,’ it is written, ‘But the sun or righteousness will rise for you who fear My name, with healing in its wings.’”

309) At that time, wars will awaken in the world—nation against nation, and city against city—and many troubles will surface over the enemies of Israel until their faces are darkened like the sides of a caldron. After that, their redemption will appear over them out of the roar of their pressure and stress.

BEIT LECHEM [BETHLEHEM]

VaYechi [Jacob Lived]

87) And why is this holy place called “bread,” since the writing says that Ephrat is Beit Lechem [House of Bread]? This is because it is from the name of the Creator, for they will die there in fighting for His name, “The hand upon the throne of Koh [ Yod– Hey]: the Lord will have war against Amalek.” This means that they will die there to complement the name Yod– Hey. This is so because the name is not complete with HaVaYaH until the memory of Amalek is blotted out, and this is why the war is to complement the name Yod– Hey with Vav– Hey. This is why the name is called Lechem, from the word Milchamah [war], since he fought in exile because he came to complement the name of the Creator.

With The Zohar, We Will Come Out of Exile

Nasso [Take]

89) Such as that will be done, testing Israel in the last exile, as it is written, “Many will be purged, purified and refined,” which are from the side of the good, enduring the trial. “But the wicked will act wickedly,” from the side of the evil, and the verse, “Nor will they enter the land of Israel,” will come true in them, and he kills them.

Bina, the tree of life. It was for them that The Book of Zohar said, “And the wise will shine like the radiance of the firmament,” from the radiance of Upper Ima, who is called, “repentance.” These do not require testing, and because Israel are destined to taste of the tree of life, which is this Book of Zohar, they will be delivered from the exile with mercy through it.

 

Nature

 

Earth Is Round

New Zohar, Beresheet [Genesis]

619) The world is as round as a ball. When the sun comes out in the east, it goes in a circle until it reaches below the earth, and then it becomes evening. At that time, it gradually descends by circles of certain steps, descending and circling the whole earth and the whole world.

620) When the sun comes down and is covered by it, it grows dark upon us and lights up to those who are dwelling below us, those who are on the other side of the earth, below our feet. And so it grows dark on one side and shines on the other side, below it, following the world and circle of the earth, round and round.

621) And similarly, its light gradually descends and separates between the water below the water of the ocean and the water for those who go above, separating in the middle of the waters of the sea, detaining a pipe of water that comes out of Hell from passing through and harming people. For this reason, the sun is not called Shemesh [sun], but LeShamesh [to serve] people, as this is why it is called Shemesh, that is, MeShamesh [serving], for it serves everyone.

Had the light of the sun not bathed itself in the sea of the ocean, it would have burned and lit up the whole world.

Changes in the Air

VaYikra [The Lord Called]

141) The whole world revolves in a circle like a ball, some are above and some are below. The people all around the earth stand opposite each other and the seven parts in the ball are the seven lands. And all the people in the six lands differ in their appearances according to the different air in each place. And they persist as the rest of the people.

The Earth Quakes

Shemot [Exodus]

306) Rabbi Isaac came across a mountain and saw a man sleeping under a tree. Rabbi Isaac sat there. While he was sitting, he saw that the earth was quaking and that tree broke and fell, and he saw crevices and holes in the ground, and the ground was rising and falling.

307) That man awoke, yelled toward Rabbi Isaac and told him, “Jew, Jew, weep and wail, for a minister is being raised in the firmament, an appointee, a high governor, and he is destined to inflict much harm upon you. This quake of the earth was for you, since every time the earth quakes, it is because an appointee who will harm you rises in the firmament.”

When People Corrupt Their Ways

Noah

39) Why was the earth corrupted? Is the earth punishable? It is because every flesh corrupted its way. When people are righteous and keep the commandments of the Torah, the earth is strengthened and every joy is in it because Divinity is upon the earth. At that time, the upper ones and lower ones are all in joy.

40) When people corrupt their way, do not keep the commandments of the Torah, and sin before their Master, they seemingly repel Divinity from the world and the earth remains corrupted. Thus, Divinity is repelled from it and is not present on it, and then she is corrupted. At that time, it is corrupted because another spirit is over it, which corrupts the world.

The Generation of the Flood

Noah

58) Why does the Creator sentence the world—the generation of the flood—with water and not with fire or with something else? It is because they corrupted their ways by the upper water and lower water, not connecting male and female properly. This is so because anyone who corrupts his way, corrupts female and male waters, that is, he blemishes the upper MAD and MAN and causes them to not unite, hence they are sentenced in water, in what they sinned.

59) And the water was boiling and they stripped the skin off them, as though they had corrupted their ways with boiling water. Judgment for judgment means that he avenged them an eye for an eye. “All the fountains of the great deep burst open” is the lower water, and “The windows of heaven opened” is the upper water. Thus, they were afflicted by the upper water and the lower water.

The Stars

Pinhas

384) What do comets—stars that a tail of light stretches behind them, which run back and forth—imply?

385) The Creator created all the stars in the firmament, great and small, and all thank and praise the Creator. When their time to praise arrives, the Creator calls them by name, as it is written, “He calls them all by name.” Then, they run and stretch a tail of light to go and praise their Master in that place where they were counted, as it is written, “Raise up your eyes and see who created these?”

All the degrees in GAR (first three) are called “stars” or “stars of heaven.” No illumination of Hochma can be elicited from them, which is called numbering and counting from above to below. This is the meaning of the words, “Look now toward the heaven and count the stars, if you can count them.” Indeed, the Creator Himself reveals the number and calculation in them in their own place. This is illumination of Hochma, but they shine from below to above, and it counts the number of stars because the Creator Himself counts the number.

“He calls them all by name.” “By name” means attainment, as what we do not attain, we do not call by name. And when the Creator assembles them to disclose the number in them, then for all the light, they bring back Ohr Hozer [reflected light] from below to above, and this is considered a tail. It is that that the comets imply in the earth.

The Rite of the Sun

Ki Tissa [When You Take]

7) When the face of the east shines, all the sons of the east, of the mountains of light, bow before the light that shines instead of the sun, before it emerges over the face of the earth, and worship it. This is so because how many worship the sun after the sun comes out? They are those who worship this light of the illumination of the dawn, who call this light, “The God of the illuminating jewel.” And they swear by the God of the illuminating jewel.

8) And should you say that this work is in vain, then since the ancient days, they knew wisdom when the sun was shining, before it came out over the face of the earth, at which time that appointee that was appointed over the sun comes out with holy letters of the Upper Name written on his head. And by the power of these letters, he opens all the windows of the heavens, strikes them, and passes. And that appointee enters that radiance, which shines around the sun before it comes out and he is there until the sun comes out and spreads through the world.

9) And that appointee is appointed over gold and red jewels, and they worship that form which is in the light of the sun, which is the appointee. Then, in points and in signs that they inherited from the first, from ancient days, they walk and know the points of the sun, to find the places of gold and jewels. But how much longer will there be these many labors in the world? After all, the lie has no pillars to support it for its existence.

Man’s Eyes

VaYehi [Jacob Lived]

341) Because the view of the world is seen in a man’s eyes, and all the colors are in them, too, and the white color in them is like the great ocean that surrounds the world from all sides, the other color in them is like the land that the waters brought out, and the land stands between the waters. Similarly, this color stands between the waters, in this white color, which implies to the ocean water.

342) The other, third color, is in the middle of the eye. This is Jerusalem, the middle of the world. The fourth color in the eye—the black in the eye—is where all the power to see in the whole of the eye is found. It is called “pupil,” and in that pupil, the face is seen. And the most precious vision of all is Zion, the point in the middle of everything. The vision of the whole world is seen there, and Divinity—the beauty of everything and the view of everything—is present there. This eye is the inheritance of the world. For this reason, the one who dies leaves it and his son takes it and inherits it.

Man Is a Small World

Lech Lecha [Go Forth]

330) How great are the deeds of the Creator? The art and painting of a man are like the artisanship and the depiction of the world. In other words, man comprises the entire deed of the world, and he is called “a small world.”

 

Zivug [Coupling]

 

The Creator Makes Zivugim

Lech Lecha [Go Forth]

346) All the souls that are destined to come into the world stand in Zivugim, Zivugim[Zivugim—plural of Zivug (coupling)] before Him. Each divides into male and female, and when they come into this world, the Creator makes Zivugim, as it is written, “The daughter of so and so with so and so.”

347) What does it mean when it says that the Creator says, “The daughter of so and so with so and so”? After all, it is written, “There is nothing new under the sun,” and all has already been done in the act of creation. Can it be that the matter of Zivugim is a new thing in each Zivug, that there is a need to declare, “The daughter of so and so with so and so”? Indeed, it is written, “There is nothing new under the sun.” However, above the sun there is news. So why does He declare here, “The daughter of so and so with so and so,” if it is said that at the very same time when one is born into the world, his mate is made ready for him?

348) Happy are the righteous, whose souls are crowned before the holy King before they come to the world to clothe in a body. At the time when the Creator elicits the souls to the world, all those spirits and souls consist of male and female, which conjoin.

349) They are given into the hands of that appointee, the emissary, who has been appointed over the impregnation of people, and whose name is “Night.” When they come down to the world and are given into the hands of that appointee, they part from one another. Sometimes, one comes down before the other and descends and clothes in people.

350) When their time to mate arrives, the Creator, who knows the males and females of those spirits and souls, brings them together as they were in the beginning, before they came to the world, and declares about them, “The daughter of so and so with so and so.” And when they unite, they become one body and one soul, and they are right and left, as it should be. The male is the right of the body and the soul, and the female is the left part in them.

For this reason, there is nothing new under the sun. Even though the Creator declares, “The daughter of so and so with so and so,” it is still nothing new but a return to how they were prior to their arrival in the world. And since it is known only to the Creator, He declares them.

351) But we learn that a person is given a mate according to his deeds and ways. Indeed, if his deeds are upright, he is rewarded with uniting with his mate as they were united at the time when they departed from the Creator, before they were clothed in a body.

352) Where will one whose deeds are upright seek his mate? It is written, “One should always sell all that he has and marry the daughter of a wise disciple.” This is so because the wise disciple has the deposit of his Master trusted in his hands, and he will certainly find his mate with him.

353) All those souls that come through reincarnation and have no mate can hurry their mate with mercy by hurrying and taking the mate of another person. The friends commented on that and said, “One does not wed a woman on a festival, but one does sanctify, lest another will come before him with mercy.” They also made a precision about “another,” that the one who incarnated without a mate, it is because he descended and became Achoraim [posterior], who is himself regarded as a Nukva [female]. This is why he has no mate. Hence, this incarnated one is called “another,” to indicate that he comes from Achoraim, and this is why the conduct about him is that he takes the mate of another.

This is why the Zivugim are difficult for the Creator, since because the mating male and female are two parts of one soul and they divided even before they came into the world, why is it said that man’s Zivug before the Creator is difficult? After all, it is only a repetition of something that was done before. However, from what has been explained, that there are incarnated souls that have no mate, who rush and take the mate of another through mercy, then afterwards, if his friend is rewarded through his actions with his mate being given back to him, the Creator must take from one and give to the other. And this is hard for Him—to reject one before the other. And yet, “The ways of the Lord are right,” for certain, and all that the Creator does is good and just.

354) Those who come by reincarnation and have no mate, where will they take their mate? The story of the sons of Benjamin proves that the incarnated souls must hurry with mercy and take their mate from another. This is why the writing says, “Lest another will precede him with mercy.”

355) Certainly, the Zivugim are hard for the Creator because He must take from one and give to the other. Happy are Israel, for the Torah teaches them the ways of the Creator and all the secrets that are hidden and concealed before Him.

356) “The law of the Lord is perfect” because it contains everything. Happy are those who engage in the Torah and do not part from it, for anyone who is separated from the Torah for even an hour, it is as though he has parted from life in the world. And it is written, “For it is your life and the length of your days,” and it is written, “For length of days, and years of life, and peace, will they add to you.”

Craving

Lech Lecha [Go Forth]

205) The female’s craving for the male makes a soul. And also, the male’s craving for the female and his adhesion with her produces a soul, which includes the soul from the craving of the female and takes it. Thus, the craving of the lower one, the female, is included in the craving of the upper one, the male, and the two souls become one, without separation.

206) And then the female contains everything, taking both souls and becoming impregnated by the male in them. The craving of the both of them becomes attached and they become as one. Hence, everything is mingled with each other and when the souls come out, male and female are mingled in them as one.

207) Afterwards, when they descend to the world, the male and female separate from one another; one turns this way and the other turns that way, and later, the Creator mates them. But the key for the Zivug is given to none other than the Creator, for only He knows how to mate them, to unite them properly so they become male and female of the same soul.

One—the Complete Zivug

VaYikra [The Lord Called]

101) How does the word, “one,” indicate the complete Zivug? It is written, “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” “One” is the assembly of Israel united with the Creator, ZA. The Zivug of male and female is called “one,” since a place where the Nukva is present is called “one,” for a male without a female is called “a half body,” and a half is not one. But when two half bodies unite, they become one body and they are called “one.”

Envy, Lust, Love

Noah

154) The awakening of the male to the female is when he envies for her. When there is a righteous in the world, Divinity does not depart from him and her desire is for him. At that time, the upper lust, from Zeir Anpin, is awakened toward her with love, as a male’s lust toward the female when he envies for her, as it is written, “And I will set up My covenant with you.” That is, the lust has awakened in Me because of you, as it is written, “And I will establish My covenant with Isaac,” for it is because of Isaac, as with Noah.

Everything is extended to the world through the Nukva, whether corrections or corruptions, as it is written, “And His kingdom rules over all.” When bestowal is corrected, it extends from a Zivug of Zeir Anpin and Nukva. When bestowal is corrupted, it extends from Zivug Zeir Anpin and Nukva of Tuma’a [impurity], which are called “another god,” which clings to Nukva de Zeir Anpin and draws toward it the abundance of Kedusha [holiness], turning it into Tuma’a and corruptions. This is the envy that Zeir Anpin envies for the Nukva, so another god will not cling to her.

And when there is a righteous in the world, due to the great desire of the Nukva to bestow upon the righteous, she stays far from another god and the love of Zeir Anpin to mate with Divinity, to bestow upon the righteous, grows extensively, as the love of a man for his wife grows when he is envious for her and fears that she will hide with another. Similarly, Zeir Anpin was afraid that she would cling to bestow upon another god.

I Washed My Legs

New Zohar, Beresheet [Genesis]

107) When the Creator confers with the Malchut and Israel are unfit to be a wick unto her, to shine, when they are unfit to raise MAN for the Zivug of Zeir Anpin and Malchut, it is written, “I have taken off my gown, how can I wear it again? I have washed my feet, how can I dirty them again?”

“I have taken off my gown” are the monikers, which are Netzah and Hod, the garments. When they all join, they are regarded as the Creator’s gown. When He confers with her, He is devoid of all those garments so as to bond with her. This is why the Creator said, “I have taken off my gown,” to be corrected and ready to benefit you, and you are not properly corrected. Now, “How can I wear it again,” how shall I put these garments back on, for they illuminate only in Achoraim, from afar, and by that I will depart from you once more?

108) “I have washed my feet, how can I dirty them again?” I have washed My feet from that filth. And what is it? When I was set up and made for you, I moved the other side, the impure one, from before My feet. Now, how shall I put that filth back on, covering the Temple, since you are not ready with your corrections to be corrected toward Me? We learn from this that when the spirit of impurity passes from the world, everything grows from above and below. For this reason, “I have washed my feet, how can I dirty them again,” as before?

When wishing to repel the Sitra Achra and correct the Malchut into being worthy of a Zivug with Zeir Anpin, an obstacle must be placed before the Sitra Achra, as it is written, “I will put hooks in your cheeks.” That is, first it is given a grip unto Kedusha [holiness], and by that it is later failed completely.

This is the meaning of what is written, “I have washed My feet from that filth,” when I was being corrected and made ready for you, meaning when Malchut was corrected into being fit for a Zivug. “I moved the other side, the impure one, from before My feet,” by first giving it a grip unto Kedusha, by which He later failed him and removed him completely. “Now, how shall I put that filth back on, covering the Temple,” should she drift away from Him again, and I will have to correct it once again. Thus, I will have to give the Sitra Achra a grip on the Temple once again in order to fail it, since that prior gripping is considered the dirtying of the feet.

As an Apple Tree among the Trees of the Wood

Aharei Mot [After the Death]

317) “As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men.” How fond is the Creator of the Assembly of Israel, for she praises Him with this verse. And why does she praise Him with an apple and not with something else, or with something that has color or fragrance or flavor?

318) Because it writes an apple, it follows that she praises Him with everything: colors, fragrance, and flavor. This is so because as an apple is a cure for everything, the Creator is the cure for everything. As the apple is colorful, for there are white, red, and green in it, the Creator has the upper colors, Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, which are white, red, and green. As an apple has a finer scent than all other trees, the Creator smells like the Lebanon. As an apple is tasty and sweet, the Creator is sweet to the palate.

 

Good and Evil

 

 

Days of the Messiah

 

Children of Ishmael

VaEra [And I Appeared]

201) Four hundred years, the appointee of the sons of Ishmael stood and asked before the Creator. He told him, “Do those who were circumcised have a part in Your name?” The Creator told him, “Yes.” He told him, “But Ishmael was circumcised, why has he no share in you like Isaac?” He replied, “One was circumcised properly and with his corrections, and the other was not. Moreover, they adhere to Me properly for eight days, and the others are as far as several days away from Me.” The appointed minister told him, “And yet, since he was circumcised, will he not have a good reward for it?”

202) Woe unto that time when Ishmael was born in the world and was circumcised. What did the Creator do with regards to the complaint of Ishmael’s minister? He removed the sons of Ishmael from adhesion with the upper one and gave them a part in the holy land below, because of the circumcision in them.

203) And the children of Ishmael are destined to rule over the holy land for a long time, when it is empty of everything, as their circumcision is empty without perfection. And they will detain the children of Israel from returning to their places until the merit of the sons of Ishmael is complemented.

204) And the children of Ishmael are destined to evoke great wars in the world. And the children of Edom will gather against them and will wage war on them—one at sea, one on land, and one near Jerusalem. And they will rule over each other but the holy land will not be given to the children of Edom.

205) At that time, a nation will awaken against evil Rome from the end of the world and will wage war against it for three months. Nations will gather there and will fall into their hands until all the children of Edom gather to it from all corners of the world.

Then the Creator will awaken upon them, as it is written, “For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah.” And what does it say afterwards? “That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,” and obliterate the children of Ishmael from the land and break all the forces above, and no force will remain above over the nations of the world, which is Israel, except the force of Israel, as it is written, “The Lord is your shade upon your right hand.”

206) Because the Holy Name is in the right, and the Torah is in the right, everything depends on the right, and we must raise the right above the left, as it is written, “At His right hand was a fiery law.” And in the future, “Save with Your right hand and answer me,” “For then will I turn to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent,” and it is written, “In that day shall the Lord be One, and His name One.”

The Coming of the Messiah

Shemot [Exodus]

96) Rabbi Shimon raised his hands and wept. He said, “Woe unto he who will be at that time, and happy is he who will be and can be present at that time.” “Woe unto he who will be at that time” because when the Creator comes to visit the deer, meaning Divinity, He will look to see who are the ones that are standing with her, He will observe all the deeds of each and every one of those who are with her, and no righteous shall be found. It is written about that, “And I looked, and there was none to help.” At that time, many troubles will come over Israel.

97) “Happy is he who will be and will be present at that time.” This is because one who is in faith at that time will be rewarded with that light of the King’s joy. It is written about that time, “And [I] will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried.”

98) After these troubles awaken upon Israel, all the nations and their kings will seek counsel together against them. They will awaken several evil sentences, unite against them, and trouble after trouble will come, and the last makes the first forgotten. Then the pillar of fire that stands from above downwards will be seen for forty days and all the nations in the world will see it.

99) At that time, the Messiah King will awaken to come out of the Garden of Eden, from the place called “the bird’s nest,” and will appear in the land of the Galilee. And on the day when the Messiah goes out there, the whole world will be angered and all the people in the world will hide in caves and in crevices in stones and they will not know how to be saved. It is written about that time, “And men shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the holes of the earth, from before the terror of the Lord, and from the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake mightily the earth.”

100) “Before the terror of the Lord” is the angering of the whole world. “And from the glory of His majesty” is the Messiah. “When He arises to shake mightily the earth” is when the Messiah rises and will appear in the land of the Galilee, since this is the first place that was ruined in the Holy Land by Assyria. For this reason, he will appear there before all other places, and from there he will evoke wars upon the entire world.

101) After forty days, when the pillar rises from earth to heaven in the eyes of the whole world and the Messiah has appeared, a star will rise up on the east, blazing in all colors, and seven other stars will surround that star. And they will wage war on it from all sides, three times a day for seventy days, and all the people in the world will see.

102) And that star will make war with them with torches of blazing fire, sparkling in every direction, and it will strike them until it swallows them every single night. And at daytime, it lets them out again. They will make the war before the whole world repeatedly for seventy days. After seventy days, that star will be hidden and the Messiah will be hidden for twelve months, the pillar of fire will return as before, the Messiah will be hidden in it, and that pillar will not be seen.

103) After twelve months, the Messiah will be raised inside that pillar into the firmament, where he will receive strength and the crown of kingship. And when he descends to the earth, that pillar of fire will be seen again as before, in the eyes of the whole world. Afterwards, the Messiah will appear and many nations will gather unto him, and he will make wars throughout the world. At that time, the Creator will awaken all the peoples of the world with His might, the Messiah King will be known throughout the world, and all the kings in the world will awaken and unite to wage war against him.

104) Several rulers in Israel will revert and return to the gentiles and will come with them to wage war against the Messiah King. Then, the whole world will darken for fifteen days and many from the people of Israel will die in that darkness. This is why it is written, “For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth.”

The Messiah King—the Nukva

VaYechi [Jacob Lived]

589) The Messiah King will be called “poor” because he has nothing of his own, for he is the Nukva de ZA, and she is called “the Messiah King.” However, this is the holy moon above, Nukva de ZA, who has no light of her own, except what she receives from the sun, ZA. This is why she is considered poor.

590) The Messiah King, the Nukva, will reign in His dominion, will unite in His place above. And then, as it is written, “Your king shall come to you,” precisely “King,” since he contains the Nukva above and the Messiah King below.

If below, he is poor, the moon, the upper Nukva, since it is discerned as the moon, which is the upper Nukva, since the Messiah King below extends from the Nukva and is therefore called, “poor,” like her. And if above, which is the Nukva herself, she is poor, since she is a mirror that does not shine by itself, but from ZA. For this reason, she is called, “bread of affliction.” Yet, the Messiah is riding on a donkey and a foal, the stronghold of the idol worshipping nations, to subdue them under him. And the Creator, the Nukva, will strengthen in His place above, for the words, “Your king shall come to you” contain them both.

Signs of the Messiah

VaYera [The Lord Appeared]

476) “Then will I remember My covenant with Jacob.” Why is Jacob spelled with a Vav [in Hebrew] when they are absent from the exile, in the Vav, in the sixth millennium, it implies that Jacob, the children of Israel, will be redeemed in the Vav.

477) The commandment concerning the Vav is six and a half minutes. And at the sixtieth year to the bar of the door, in the sixth millennium—the Vav, Tifferet, is the middle bar that bolts inside the boards from one end to the other, hence its name, “the door-bolt,”—the God of heaven will raise a count for the daughter of Jacob. And it will take six and a half years from that time until she has remembering. This is the length of time of the count. And from that time, it will take six other years, which is the length of time of remembering, and they are seventy-two and a half years.

This is so because each illumination appears in Katnut and in Gadlut. It begins in Katnut—VAK, which shines only from below upwards—female light, and this is the time of the count. Subsequently, the Gadlut appears, light of GAR, which shines from above downwards. This revelation is called, “remembering,” “male light.”

Your indication is that the female’s face turns upwards, and the male’s face turns downwards. This is why the birth of Isaac begins with the words, “Then the Lord took note of Sarah,” which is female light, called “counting,” when she was still unfit for delivery, until the remembering was extended to her. This is why it is written a second time, “And the Lord did for Sarah as He had promised,” which is the remembering. This is so because it mentions action here, and action is considered male, since there is no action in female light because a woman is the ground of the world.

Also, in the future redemption, when the Vav raises the Hey in the complete and great light, as it is written, “And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun,” the count of this great light will appear first, and then the remembering. The count, which extends in the form of Vav, will shine for only six minutes, HGT NHY, which shine in her by mingling with the male while with respect to herself she has only half a time, meaning half the Malchut, called, “time,” that is, only from the Chazeh up in her, and not from the Chazeh down. This is so because she is still in the form of counting, which is female light, which does not shine from above downwards; hence, half a moment is missing in her, meaning from the Chazeh down.

And for this reason, the years of the count will be six and a half years, from sixty years to sixty-five and a half. Then the light of remembering, the male light, will appear from the Vav, and then the Messiah King will appear, which is male and Vav, and his illumination will last six other years.

478) In sixty-six years will the Messiah King be revealed in the land of the Galilee, and it is the Messiah Son of Joseph. Hence, the place of his revelation is the Galilee, the lot of Joseph. And when a star on the east will swallow seven stars on the north, and a blaze of black fire will be hanging in the firmament for sixty days, wars will awaken in the world on the north side, and two kings will fall in these wars. And all the peoples will come together over the daughter of Jacob, to repel her from the world. It is written about that time, “it is a time of trouble unto Jacob, but he will be saved from it.” At that time, all the souls will perish from the body and will need to return and be renewed. And your sign is, “All the souls belonging to Jacob that came into Egypt,” all sixty six souls.

This is so because prior to the complete redemption, there were redemptions from Egypt and from Babylon by the force of the lights and Kelim de Ima [vessels of Ima]. But Malchut herself had had no redemption yet, in and of herself. This is the rainbow, in which only three colors shine—white, red, and green—while her black color does not shine, since Malchut has nothing of her own. Instead, she needs to receive from ZA, her husband, who gives her from the lights and Kelim de Ima. But complete redemption means that Malchut herself will be built with her own Kelim and lights, and will no longer need to receive the lights and Kelim de Ima from ZA, as it is written, “And the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun.”

As in Malchut’s previous redemptions, Malchut is built in three lines, and then she herself is built—the vessel of reception of the three lines. Similarly, in the future redemption, the light of redemption must correct the Malchut one at a time in three lines, and then her own self, which receives from three lines. Subsequently, she will have all the perfection suitable for the complete Zivug, which are the five discernments of correction.

This leads to an order of times:

• First correction—from sixty years to sixty-six and a half, only the right line in her will be corrected in the light of counting.
• Second correction—from sixty-six to seventy-three years, the left line in her will be corrected in the light of remembering. Hence, at that time, the Messiah Son of Joseph will appear in the land of the Galilee. All the signs at that time come from the Dinim [judgments], which apply during the illumination of the left.
• Third correction—from seventy-three years to 100 years, corrects the middle line in her, by which the Messiah Son of David will appear.
• Fourth correction—her self, to receive all that there is in the three lines, from 100 years to the end of the sixth millennium, in a Zivug of the Vav in the Hey. And all the old souls that came out since the days of the creation of the world through the end of the sixth millennium will then receive complete renewal.
• The fifth correction—the seventh millennium, when Malchut is completed in its entirety, and it will be one day for the Creator, for one Zivug for begetting new souls, which have never existed since the day of the creation of the world through the seventh millennium.

He said that on the 66th, the Messiah King will appear in the land of the Galilee, and it is the Messiah, Son of Joseph, who appears in his domain, and his time is seven years through seventy-three years. This is so because he comes to correct with the light of remembering, the half of Malchut that is still missing in the light of counting, whose time is six and a half years, since it is light of VAK. And now that the light of remembering—which is GAR—has arrived, the Messiah, Son of Joseph, appeared first, to correct the whole of the left line—seven years. This indicates that the Malchut has been completely corrected, even from the Chazeh down, since in the previous redemptions, her left line was corrected only by the force of her ascension to Ima, which received the left line of Ima. But now, her own left line will be corrected in her place below, and she no longer needs the left line of Ima.

It was said, “And one star from the east will swallow seven stars from the north.” This is so because of the four winds —HB TM—Bina is on the north and Tifferet is on the east. Remembering is the light of the Vav, Tifferet, the star on the east, which will correct the Malchut in the left line herself. Thus, by that it revokes the left side of Ima, the north side, which was in the structure of Malchut thus far. It is perceived as swallowing the seven stars of Bina within it, and the seven stars are the seven Sefirot, HGT NHYM, that are included in the left line.

It was said, “And a blaze of black fire will be hanging in the firmament for sixty days.” Dinim that come to the world by the illumination of the left are called, “a blaze of fire.” Thus far, the blaze was a red-color fire, from Bina and not from Malchut. This is because the four colors—white, red, green, and black—are HB TM, where red is Bina. But now that the Malchut has obtained lights and Kelim from her own self, and the left line extends to her in her own Kelim, which is the color black, the blaze of fire that comes by the illumination of the left is of the color black. This is why he says that a black fire will be hanging in the firmament. And the number sixty days is sixty heroes, for it is called, “illumination of the left,” where even though it is the light of GAR, it is still only GAR in VAK, where each tip consists of ten, and they are sixty. Also, days are Sefirot.

It was said, “And wars will awaken in the world on the north side, and two kings will fall in these wars.” By the force of the Dinim in the illumination of the left, wars will be extended to the world. And because the east will then swallow the north, the Dinim will stretch from the east to the north, as well. “And two kings will fall in these wars,” one from the nations of the world and one from Israel, which is the Messiah Son of Joseph.

It is written, “And all the peoples will come together, over the daughter of Jacob, to repel her from the world.” This is because after the fall of the Messiah Son of Joseph, the nations will greatly intensify and will want to repel Israel from the world, as it is written, “It is a time of trouble unto Jacob, but he will be saved from it.” This means that those Dinim and troubles will not come as punishments, but so as to afterwards become Kelim for the complete salvation. This is the meaning of, “He will be saved from it.”

It is written, “At that time, all the souls will perish from the body,” where by the Dinim and the troubles that they will suffer at that time, the power of the souls that were once in a body will be emptied, and not only the souls from that generation, but the souls from all the generations that were once in a body since the day of the creation of the world. All of them will weaken and their force will run out, until, “And will need to return and be renewed,” meaning that they will need to (and must) be renewed.

480) In seventy-three years, seven years after the disclosure of the Messiah Son of Joseph, all the kings of the world will gather in the big city, Rome, and the Creator will awaken upon them fire and hail and crystal stones, and they will perish from the world. And only those kings that did not come to Rome will remain in the world and will later return to wage other wars. At that time, the Messiah King will awaken throughout the world, and several nations and several armies will gather to him from the world over, and all the children of Israel will gather in their places.

Interpretation: Here is where the middle line is established, which is about the subjugation of the left so as to be included in the right line, as well as the right in the left. Then the degree is completed on all sides. This is the meaning of, “In seventy-three years… all the kings of the world,” all those whose strength is from the left will gather in the big city, Rome, which is the head of all the forces of the left. “And the Creator will awaken upon them… and they will perish from the world.” This is so because through the illumination of the middle line, all the Dinim [judgments] will be cancelled and the forces of the left will perish from the world. “And only those kings that did not come to Rome,” those who extend from the Klipot of the right, who did not come to Rome, which is left, “Will later return to wage other wars,” since during the fourth correction, there will be a time for the forces of the right to fight Israel, as is written below.

“At that time, the Messiah King will awaken,”—the Messiah Son of David—who extends from the middle line, and hence his time to appear has come, along with his correction. “And all the children of Israel will gather in their places,” to go to Jerusalem, for then begins the ingathering of the exiles and they will gather in their places to go to Jerusalem. But they will not go before the arrival of the fourth correction, which is the correction of the Malchut that will receive the illumination of the three lines within her. And then all of Israel will gather and come to Jerusalem.

481) Until the years were completed and came to 100 years in the sixth millennium. Then the Vav will bond with the Hey, bestowing the corrections of the three lines upon the Hey, Malchut, meaning the fourth correction. “Then they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord,” and then will be the ingathering of the exiles. And the children of Ishmael—the head of all the forces of the Klipot from the right (as is Rome with the forces of the left)—will awaken at that time along with all the peoples of the world who did not come to Rome, to come to Jerusalem for war, as it is written, “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle.” And it is also written, “The kings of the earth stand up,” and also, “He who sits in the heavens will laugh.”

482) After all the forces of the Sitra Achra on the right and on the left are gone, the small Vav will awaken, Yesod de ZA, to unite with the Hey and to renew the old souls, meaning all those who were in a body since the time of the creation of the world until then, so as to renew the world, Malchut, as it is written, “Let the Lord rejoice in His works.” It is also written, “May the glory of the Lord endure forever,” so the Hey will properly bond with the Vav, as it should be. “Let the Lord rejoice in His works,” to bring down His deeds, which are the renewed souls to the world, so they will all be new creations and all the worlds will unite as one.

483) Happy are all those who will remain in the world at the end of the sixth millennium, to enter the Sabbath, which is the seventh millennium. This is because then it is one day, for the Lord alone, to properly mate with the Hey and to assemble new souls to bestow upon the world, meaning souls that have never been to the world. They will be in the world along with the old souls that remained from the beginning and were renewed, as it is written, “And it shall come to pass that he that is left in Zion, and he that remains in Jerusalem shall be called ‘holy,’ even every one that is written unto life in Jerusalem.”

The Secrets of the Torah are Revealed in the Days of the Messiah

VaYikra [The Lord Called]

387) After Moses died, it is written, “And this people will rise up, and go astray.” Woe unto the world when Rabbi Shimon departs it, when the fountains of wisdom are blocked in the world and a man seeks a word of wisdom, but none shall be found to speak. And the whole world will be erring in the Torah and there will be no one to evoke in the wisdom.

It is written about that time, “And if the whole congregation of Israel shall err,” meaning if they err in the Torah and do not know her ways and what they are because “and the matter is hidden from the eyes of the assembly,” meaning that there is none who knows how to reveal the depth of the Torah and her ways, woe unto those generations that will be in the world at that time.

388) At the time of the Messiah, the Creator will reveal profound secrets in the Torah, “For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” It is written, “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord’; for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them.”

The Appearance of the Wisdom to All the Nations

VaYera [The Lord Appeared]

460) When it is near the days of the Messiah, even infants in the world will find the secrets of the wisdom and know the ends and calculations of redemption in it. And at that time, it will be revealed to all. This is the meaning of the verse, “For then will I turn to the peoples.” What is “Then”? It is the time when the Assembly of Israel rises from the dust. When the Creator raises her, “Then will I turn to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him shoulder to shoulder.”

 

Exodus from Egypt

 

As a Lily among Thorns

Ki Tissa [When You Take]

31) “As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.” The Creator wished to make Israel similar to what is above, so there would be one lily in the earth that is like the lily above, Malchut. And the fragrant lily, better than all the lilies in the world is only one who has grown among the thorns. This one smells as it should. Hence, He sowed seventy pairs, which are seventy souls, and brought them among the thorns, the Egyptians. And as soon as these thorns came, those pairs out there grew branches and leaves and dominated the world. Then the lily blossomed among them.

32) Since the Creator wished to take out the lily from among them, the thorns dried out and were thrown away and were corrupted until they were regarded as nothing. When He went to collect the lily, to bring out his firstborn son, the King went within several armies, ministers, and rulers with waved banners. He took out his firstborn son with several mighty ones and brought him to His palace to sit in the King’s house, as it should be.

Open for Me, My Sister, My Wife

Emor [Speak]

128) “I am asleep but my heart is awake; A sound, my beloved is knocking.” The assembly of Israel said, “I sleep in the exile in Egypt.” This is because the exile was due to the domination of the left over the right, and the Mochin of Malchut, which are sleep,move away from the Dinim of the left. My sons were in harsh enslavement, and my heart is awake so as to keep them so they will not perish in the exile. “A sound, my beloved is knocking” is the Creator, who said, “And I have remembered My covenant.”

129) Open for me an opening like the tip of a needle, and I will open the high gates for you. Open for me, my sister, because the door for my entrance is in you. My sons can enter only in you. If you do not open your door, then I am locked; I will not be found. Hence, “Open for me.” Certainly, open for me. This is why when David wished to come into the King, he said, “Open to me the gates of righteousness… This is the gate of the Lord.” The gates of righteousness is Malchut; it is the way to enter the King. “This is the gate of the Lord,” to find Him and to adhere to Him. Hence, “Open to me, my sister, my love,” to mate with you and forever be at peace with you.

For itself, ZA is in Hassadim covered from Hochma. And Malchut in and of herself is in Hochma without Hassadim. She is called “night” because Hochma does not shine without Hassadim. Hence, there is complete abundance for the redemption of Israel only through Zivug of ZA and Malchut. This is because then the Hassadim of ZA are mingled with the Hochma of Malchut, and Israel receive the complete abundance from GAR.

Unleavened Bread and Matza

Tetzaveh [Command]

74) It is like a king who had an only son, who was sickened. One day, he wished to eat. They said, “Let the king’s son eat this medicine, and before he eats it, let no other food be in the house.” And so they did. When he ate that medicine he said, “Henceforth, let him eat whatever he chooses; it will not be able to harm him.”

75) Similarly, when Israel came out of Egypt, they did not know the meaning and the foundation of the faith. The Creator said, “Let Israel taste the cure, and as long as they eat that medicine let no other food be seen by them,” meaning leaven. When they ate the Matza, which is the medicine to come and to know the meaning of faith, which is Malchut, the Creator said, “Henceforth, they are fit for leaven. Let them eat it for it can no longer harm them.” And on the day of Shavuot, the high bread of ZA was found, meaning complete healing.

76) This is why leaven is offered, meaning the evil inclination, to be burnt at the altar through the sacrifices that are offered at the altar, and the two other breads are offered by waving them together. Two other breads means besides the sacrifices. The leaven, the evil inclination, is burned in the fire of the altar through the sacrifices and cannot rule and harm Israel. This is why the holy Israel adhere to the Creator on this day with the healing of the Torah

The Crossing of the Red Sea and the Doe that Must Give Birth

BeShalach [When Pharaoh Sent]

178) When Israel camped by the sea they saw several multitudes, several soldiers, and several camps above and below, and they all gathered over Israel. In their plight, Israel began to pray.

179) At that time, Israel saw adversity on all sides. The sea with its mounting waves was before them, behind them were all the appointees, all the camps of Egypt, and above them were several slanderers. They began to cry out to the Creator.

182) There is a doe [female deer] in the land and the Creator does a lot for her. When she cries out, the Creator hears her plight and accepts her voice. And when the world needs mercy for water, she makes a sound and the Creator hears her voice, and then the Creator has mercy over the world, as it is written, “As the deer craves for the water brooks.”

183) And when she needs to deliver, she is blocked from all sides. She places her head between her knees and cries out in a loud voice. Then the Creator has pity on her and sends her a serpent who bites her pudendum and opens her, tearing that place in her, and delivers her immediately. In this, do not ask or try the Creator.

The Commandment of Telling the Story of the Exodus from Egypt

Bo [Come unto Pharaoh]

179) The commandment that follows is to speak in the praise of the exodus from Egypt, which is mandatory for man for all time. Every man who tells the story of the exodus from Egypt and delights in that story will rejoice with Divinity (which is joy from all sides) in the next world. This is a man who is delighted with his master, and the Creator is delighted with that story of his.

180) When the Creator brings his company together and tells them, “Go and listen to the story of My praise, which my children tell, and rejoice in My redemption,” they all come and gather and bond with Israel, and listen to the story of the praise, that they are happy with the delight of redemption from their master, and come and thank the Creator for these miracles and mighty deeds, and thank Him for the holy nation that He has in the land. And they are happy with the joy of redemption of their Lord.

181) Then more power and might is added to him above. And with that story, Israel give strength to their Master, like a king who is given further power and might when his strength is praised and he is thanked, and all fear him and his honor rises above all. For this reason, this story and praise must be told. Similarly, man must always speak before the Creator and publicize the miracle with all those miracles that He had done.

182) But why is it a must to speak of the miracles? After all, the Creator knows everything—what came before and what will come after. So why the publication before Him of what He had done and knew? Indeed, man must make the miracle known and speak before Him of all that He had done because these words rise and the whole of the household of above gathers and sees them and thanks the Creator, and His honor rises in their eyes above and below.

The Destined Redemption

Ki Tazria [When a Woman Delivers]

186) “As in the days when you came out from the land of Egypt, I will show you miracles.” The Creator is destined to show redemption to His sons, such as in the days when the Creator sent to deliver Israel from Egypt. And He showed these plagues on the Egyptians and struck them for Israel.

What is the difference between the redemption at the end of days and the redemption from Egypt? The redemption from Egypt was in one king and in one kingdom, while here it is in all the kings in the world. At that time, the Creator will be honored throughout the world and everyone will know the reign of the Creator, and everyone will be struck by blows from above, twice for one, since they will all refuse to let Israel go.

187) Then will the reign of the Creator appear, as it is written, “And the Lord shall be King over all the earth.” And then the nations will volunteer to bring Israel to the Creator, as it is written, “And they shall bring all your brothers.” Then the patriarchs will be revived in joy to see the redemption of their sons as in the beginning, as it is written, “As in the days when you came out from the land of Egypt, I will show you miracles.”

 

The Evil Inclination and the Good Inclination

 

 

Fear

 

Fear—the First Commandment

Introduction of The Book of Zohar

189) “In the beginning God created.” This is the first Mitzva (commandment). This Mitzva is called “fear of the Creator,” called Resheet (beginning), as it is written, “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Fear of the Creator is the beginning of knowledge because this fear is called “beginning.” And this is the gate that leads to faith. And the whole world exists on this Mitzva…

190) Fear is interpreted by three discernments, two of which have no proper root, and one is the root of fear. There is a man who fears the Creator so that his children may live and not die, or fears bodily punishment or punishment through money, hence he always fears Him. It follows that the fear he fears the Creator is not placed as the root because his own benefit is the root, and the fear is a result of it.

And there is a person who fears the Creator because he is afraid of a punishment in that world, and the punishment of Hell. These two fears—the fear of punishment in this world and in the next world—are not the essence of the fear and its root.

191) The real fear is when one fears one’s Master because He is great and ruling, the essence and the root of all the worlds, and all else is nothing compared to Him.

The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation; Whom Shall I Fear?

BaMidbar [In the Desert]

39) “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” Since Adam gazed in the upper light and the Creator shone upon him, he fears neither upper ones nor lower ones, as it is written, “But upon thee the Lord will arise, and His glory shall be seen upon thee.” “The Lord is the stronghold of my life.” When the Creator holds a person, he does not fear all the litigants in the world.

 

Jerusalem

 

Israel and the Nations

 

 

Life’s Purpose

 

 

Souls

 

The Soul of Adam HaRishon

VaEra [And I Appeared]

32) “And I appeared unto Abraham.” “Happy is the man for whom the Lord does not count iniquity.” How dense are people for not knowing and not observing why they are in the world. After all, when the Creator created the world, He made man in His image and established him with His corrections, to engage in Torah and to walk in His ways.

33) When Adam ha Rishon was created, he was established out of the dust of the Temple below, Malchut, which is called “dust,” but Malchut that is mitigated in Bina, called “the dust of the Temple below.” And the four directions of the world, HGTM, connected in that place, called “The Temple,” in Malchut that was mitigated in Bina. And those four directions of the world conjoined in four sides, the foundations of the world—fire, wind, water, and dust—the internality of HGTM. The four directions of the world conjoined in the four foundations of the world and the Creator established out of them a single body in the upper correction, which is Bina, in which the Malchut was mitigated in Bina. It turns out that that body was made of two worlds from this bottom world, Malchut, and from the upper world, Bina. This is the meaning of the two points that were joined together.

Past, Present and Future—At Once

Aharei Mot [After the Death]

94) “That which is has been already, and that which will be…” “That which is has been already…” Before the Creator created this world, He created worlds and destroyed them. This is the breaking of the vessels. Finally, the Creator desired to create this world, and consulted with the Torah, the middle line. Then He was corrected in His corrections, decorated in His decorations, and created this world. And then, everything that exists in this world was before Him at the time of creation, and was established before Him.

95) All the leaders of the world in every generation stand before the Creator in their forms, before they come into the world. Even all the souls of people, before they come to the world, are engraved before Him in the heaven, in the very same form they have in this world. And all that they learn in this world, they know before they come into the world. And we learned that all this is in those who are true righteous.

96) And all those who are not righteous in this world are removed from the Creator even there, above, before they come to the world. They enter the hole of the great abyss and rush to descend to the world. And their soul is as obstinate in this world as it was before it came into the world.

Also, they throw that holy part that the Creator gave them from the side of holiness and wander and roam. They are defiled in that hole of the great abyss and take their share from there, and rush to descend to the world. If one is later rewarded and repents before his Master, he takes his very own piece, the part of holiness he had thrown above, as it is written, “That which is has been already, and that which will be has already been.”

This is so because when the souls are created, while they are still above, before they come into this world under time, they are in eternity, above time, where past, present, and future apply at once, as is the nature of eternity. It follows that all the deeds that the souls will do one at a time when they come into this world already exist there all at once, as their actions in this world.

This is so because the whole of the Torah that they will learn in this world during the years of their lives already exists there. And all their bad deeds are already depicted in their souls. And as they will throw the holy part in this world, they will there, too. And if they are destined to first sin and then repent in this world, it is depicted above as all at once, as is the nature of eternity, for this, too, is already pictured there.

And there is a difference between a soul that is destined to be in a righteous and one that is destined to be in a wicked. The one that is destined for the righteous is already there in all its sanctity, and therefore has no desire to come into this world, to the filthy material body, unless by the decree of the Creator. But a soul that is destined to be in a wicked rushes to come and clothe the filthy body, for she craves filth.

The Soul Comprises the Creator and Divinity

Teruma [Donation]

590) From the day one inherits the soul, which comprises the Creator and His Divinity, from that time he is called “a son.” This is the meaning of what David said in Psalms, “I will tell of the law of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.’” This applies to every person when one obtains the soul.

My Dove, My Undefiled, Is but One

Chayei Sarah [The Life of Sarah]

141) “My dove, my undefiled, is but one; she is the only one,” the Neshama [soul]. Why is it that here, in Song of Songs, we call the soul in feminine form, “My dove, my undefiled,” and there, in the Torah, we call it in masculine form, Abraham?

142) In the Torah, the soul is called by masculine form, relating to the body. This is so because with respect to the body, the soul is as a woman toward a man. Also, toward a higher degree than itself, the soul is as a female before a male. And each inherits his merit according to the matter at hand. This is why in Song of Songs, when the king that peace is his speaks of the soul, which is a higher degree than her, it is considered a female and he refers to it as a female, “My dove, my undefiled.” But the Torah speaks of the soul in and of itself; hence, it refers to it as masculine form, Abraham.

Soul and Love

VaYechi [Jacob Lived]

744) Thus, the souls are higher from two sides, from ZA and from Nukva, and they come from their internality. Therefore, why do they descend to this world and why do they depart it? It is like a king who had a son, whom he sent to some village to raise him until he is grown and to teach him the ways of the king’s palace. When the king heard that his son had grown, he sent his mother out of his love for his son and she brought him to his palace, and he rejoiced with his son.

745) Thus the Creator begot a son with its mother, which is the uppermost, holy soul, the generations of ZON. He sent him to atone, that is, to this world, to grow in it and to be taught the conducts of the King’s palace. Since the King knew that his son would grow in that village, and the time had arrived to bring him to his palace, out of his love, he sent his mother and she brought him to his palace. The soul does not depart this world until his mother comes for her and brings her to the King’s palace, where she sits forever.

746) Yet, it is the nature of the world that the people of the village cry over the departure of the King’s son from them. There was a sage there, who told them, “Why are you crying? Is he not a prince, who should not be living among you any longer, but in his father’s palace?” So was Moses, who was a sage. He saw that the people of the village were crying and hence said, “You are the children of the Lord your God: you shall not cut yourselves.”

747) If all the righteous knew that, they would be happy when their day came to depart from this world. Is it not the highest honor that the mistress comes for them to lead them to the King’s palace so the King will rejoice in them all day? After all, the Creator entertains only with the souls of the righteous.

748) The love ofthe assembly of Israel, the Nukva, to the Creator, ZA, awakens when the souls of the righteous below awaken it, since they come from the side of the King, ZA, from the male’s side. Thus, this awakening comes to the Nukva from the male, and the love awakens.

It turns out that the male awakens the fondness and love to the Nukva and then the Nukva becomes connected with love to the male. This settles the question that it is not good for the Nukva to chase after the male. Now it is clear that the souls of the righteous, which are males, awaken this love for ZA.

749) Similarly, the craving of the Nukva to shoot lower waters opposite upper waters is only in the souls of the righteous. Happy are the righteous in this world and in the next world, for the upper and lower stand over them. Hence, “A righteous is the foundation of the world” can be related to the upper righteous, Yesod de ZA, and can be related to the souls of the righteous; both are true.

750) The meaning of all that is that the righteous is the Yesod above, Yesod de ZA, and Yesod below, in the Nukva, and the souls of the righteous. And the assembly of Israel, the Nukva, is included in the righteous above and below. A righteous from the side of Yesod de ZA, and a righteous from the side of the soul of the righteous below, inherit her, meaning the Nukva. This is the meaning of, “The righteous shall inherit the land,” the Nukva. The righteous, Yesod de ZA, inherits the land, Nukva, imparts blessings upon her every day, and gives her pleasures and dainties extended from above, from Bina, which he draws to her.

People and Angels

Aharei Mot [After the Death]

220) Since the day the world was created, the souls of the great righteous stand before the Creator and pause before Him. And the Creator gazes upon them until it is time to bring them down to earth to clothe a body. And they govern above and below, as it is written, “As the Lord… lives, before whom I stood.” “…I stood,” meaning before he came into this world. Afterwards, he returned to his place in heaven and went up to his chamber.

But other souls do not rise to their places until they die because they did not stand before the Creator at the same degree, such as Enoch [Hanoch] and Elijah [Eliyahu], who were rewarded with rising to their places while they were still alive. This is why Elijah became an emissary and a messenger above, as did Enoch. Also, they adhered to the King more than an angel.

221) All the Holy Spirits above, meaning angels, work as the Creator’s emissaries, and they all come from one place. But the souls of the righteous come from two degrees that are included in one; hence, they rise higher than angels, and their degrees are more than those of angels. And all those who were hidden there descended and rose in their lives, like Enoch, in whom there was no death.

Two points are included in Malchut—a lock and a key. All the lights extend only through the key, and the point of the lock is concealed in it. And she is called, “The tree of knowledge of good and evil,” since the people, who extend from Malchut, are good if they are rewarded and do not sin, when the point of the lock does not appear and he is awarded all the lights. And if one is not rewarded, he is evil, and the point of the lock appears on him. At that time, all the lights depart at once and thus, death comes upon man, for Satan, who is the angel of death, awakens the point of the lock upon man, which causes the departure of the light of life.

There is a virtue in angels that does not exist in people: angels do not die. People, however, are made of the point of the lock, as well, and therefore die. But there is a virtue in people that does not exist in angels, since the angels have no burden of correction, as the key needs no correction, since it comes from Bina and it comes only to correct the lock. Thus, they always stand at the same degree as when they were created, and there are no ascents and descents in them.

But people, who contain a lock, carry the entire burden of correction; hence, when they are rewarded, they rise and attain degrees that do not exist in the angels. And there are great souls in whom the lock is so deeply hidden that it will never be fit of revealing. But they do not die, since the lock in them is hidden and concealed in their root.

 

Ups and Downs along the Way

 

As Light Excels Over Darkness

Ki Tazria [When a Woman Inseminates]

105) “As light excels over darkness.” The benefit of the light comes only out of the darkness. The correction of the white is black, for without the black, the white would be pointless. And because there is black, the white is elevated and respected. It is like sweet and bitter. A person cannot know the taste of sweetness before he has tasted bitterness. Thus, what makes it sweet is the bitter.

In things where there are opposites, the one reveals the other, such as in white and black, light and darkness, sick and healthy. If there were no sickness in the world, the term healthy would be unattainable, as it is written, “God has made the one opposite the other.” And it is also written, “It is good that you grasp the one, and also not let go of the other.”

Shimon from the Market

Beresheet [Genesis]

159) “And God said, ‘Let us make man,’” “The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him.” In the verse, “And God said,” there is a secret that is revealed only to those who fear Him. The oldest among the elder started and said, “Shimon, Shimon, who is it who said, ‘Let us make man,’ of whom it is written, ‘And God said’? Who is this name Elokim [God]?”

In the meantime, that oldest among the elder fled and no one saw him. And as Rabbi Shimon heard, he called him Shimon, and not Rabbi Shimon. He said to his friends, “This must be the Creator, of whom it was said, ‘And Atik Yomin [Ancient of Days] sits.’ Thus, now is the time to disclose that secret, for there is a secret here that was not permitted to disclose, and now it means that permission to disclose has been given.”

It is known that the secrets that were revealed to the authors of The Zohar was by attainments of the lights of the high degrees, by inspiration. Also, there are Panim [anterior] and Achoraim [posterior] in them, which means concealment and disclosure. And by the measure of the Panim in the degree, so is the measure of its Achoraim. The instilling of the Achoraim is a call and invitation to instill the Panim. For this reason, they knew the measure of their destined disclosure according to the measure of the concealment of the Achoraim that they had attained.

This is the meaning of what is written, that Rabbi Shimon heard that he called him Shimon and not Rabbi Shimon, which means that the instilling of the Achoraim, the call, was so strong that all of his degrees were lost and he became an ordinary person, Shimon from the market. By that, he recognized it as a call and invitation to obtain a very high attainment of Panim. For this reason, he promptly said to his friends, “This must be the Creator, of whom it was said, ‘And Atik Yomin [Ancient of Days] sits,’” since there is no higher degree than Him.

Day to Day Pours Forth Speech, and Night to Night Reveals Knowledge

Introduction of the Book of the Zohar

140) “Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.” This means a holy day, from among those upper days of the King, from the Sefirot de ZA, which are called “days,” praising the friends who engaged in Torah on the night of Shavuot… And “Night to night” means that each degree that governs in the night, the Sefirot of Malchut praises the other, and that knowledge is that each receives from his friend. And for all the wholeness, they have become friends and lovers…

This is so because prior to the end of correction, before we qualified our vessels of reception to receive only in order to give contentment to our Maker and not to our own benefit, Malchut is called “the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” This is so because Malchut is the guidance of the world by people’s actions. And since we are unfit to receive all the delight and pleasure that the Creator had contemplated in our favor in the thought of creation, we must receive the guidance of good and evil from the Malchut. This guidance qualifies us to ultimately correct our vessels of reception in order to bestow and to be rewarded with the delight and pleasure He had contemplated in our favor…

Often, the guidance of good and evil causes us ascents and descents, each according to what he is. You should know that for this reason, each ascent is regarded as a separate day because due to the great descent that he had, doubting the beginning, during the ascent he is as a newly born child. Thus, in each ascent, it is as though he begins to serve the Creator anew. This is why each ascent is considered a specific day, and similarly, each descent is considered a specific night.

It is written, “Day to day pours forth speech”… This is so because through the great Zivug at the end of correction they will be rewarded with repentance from love, for they will complete the correction of all the vessels of reception, so they will be only in order to bestow contentment upon the Creator. In that Zivug, all of the great delight and pleasure of the thought of creation will appear to us.

At that time, we will evidently see that all those punishments from the time of descents, which brought us into doubting the beginning, were the things that purified us and were the direct causes of all the happiness and goodness that have come to us at the time of the end of correction. This is so because were it not for those terrible punishments, we would never have come to this delight and pleasure. Then these sins will be inverted into actual merits…

This is so because all those nights are the descents, the suffering, and the punishments that arrested the Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator until they became many days one after the other. Now, once the night and darkness have become merits and good deeds, as well, the night shines like the day and darkness like light, there are no more arrests, and all 6,000 years unite into a single great day.

Thus, all the Zivugim that came out one at a time and disclosed ascents and descents that were separate from one another have now assembled into a level of one, sublime, and transcendent level of Zivug, which shines from the end of the world through its end…. Thus, they all became one day for the Lord.

When it is said, “And night to night”… This is because all those words and sufferings that are called “nights,” for which the degrees became discrete, one at a time, now they, too, shine like the day, since they have all gathered and become a single receptacle for the great knowledge that fills the whole earth with knowledge of the Lord.

It follows that each night for itself would remain in the dark, had it not come into a gathering with all the nights. This is so because each night receives its share in the knowledge only out of the bonding with the rest of the nights… since only all of them together, assembled, became worthy of receiving that great knowledge. This is why it was said, “And for all the wholeness, they have become friends and lovers,” for in the great wholeness that they received together, all the nights become loving friends to one another.

And there Was Evening, and there Was Morning, One Day

Toldot [Generations]

119) “And God called the light Day” is Abraham, who is the light of day, the right line. His light grows stronger by the correction of the day, which is the light of Hassadim. This is why it is written, “Now Abraham was old, advanced in age” [the Hebrew text uses the word “days”], meaning with the shining lights of Hassadim. And he is old, as it is written, “That shines more and more unto the perfect day.” This is why it is written about it, “And God called the light Day.”

120) “And the darkness He called Night.” This is Isaac, who is dark, darkening so as to receive the night within him. Hence, when he grew old, it is written, “And it came to pass that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see,” since he was completely darkened. Certainly, he should be completely darkened and properly cling unto his degree.

The day is ZA and the night is the Nukva. At their root, ZA is regarded as being entirely from the right line and the Nukva is regarded as being entirely from the left line. It is known that the left line is Hochma without Hassadim, which cannot shine without mingling with Hassadim. Hence, at that time, it is regarded as darkness.

Also, the left line is in dispute with the right line and does not wish to be mingled with Hassadim whatsoever until the arrival of the middle line, which is the level of Hassadim that emerges on the Masach de Hirik that diminishes the left line. And then it decides between them and the Hochma dresses in Hassadim. At that time, she shines in full and ZA is regarded as including the right line that is mingled with the left, and the Nukva as being the left line that is mingled with the right, and they unite in one another, as it is written, “And there was evening and there was morning, one day.”

 

Poor and Rich

 

Mixed Multitude

 

 

Righteous and Wicked

 

 

Middle Line

 

 

Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai [Rashbi]

 

Dwelling in the Cave

Introduction of The Book of Zohar

187) Rabbi Pinhas, son of Yair, saw two birds coming and flying over the sea. He raised his voice and said, “Birds, birds, since you fly over the sea, have you seen the place where Yochai is?” He waited a little, then said, “Birds, birds, go and tell me.” They flew away into the sea and departed.

Rabbi Shimon fled from the kingship, which ordered that he should be killed. He and his son hid in a cave, and they did not know his whereabouts. This is why Rabbi Pinhas, son of Yair, went to look for him in the islands of the sea.

188) Before he went out to the ship, the birds came and one of them held a letter in her beak. It said, “Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai has come out of the cave with his son, Rabbi Elazar.” Rabbi Pinhas went to him and found that he had changed. His body was filled with holes and sores from sitting in the cave. He wept with him and said, “Woe that I have seen you so.” Rabbi Shimon told him, “Happy I am that you have seen me so, for had you not seen me so, I would not be so.”

…For all the years that he had to dwell in a cave, he had to sit there inside the sand to cover his nakedness and engage in Torah, and his flesh rusted because of it. He wept over him and said, “Woe unto me that I have seen you so.” Rabbi Shimon told him, “Happy I am that you have seen me so, for had you not seen me so, I would not be so,” meaning I would not have been rewarded with the revelations of the secrets of the Torah, for he was awarded all the great sublimity of his wisdom during those 13 years of hiding in the cave.

Owner of the Candles

Yitro [Jethro]

411) “For this is your life.” One who is rewarded with the Torah and does not part from it is rewarded with two lives: one in this world and one in the next world. It is written, “Your life” in plural form [in Hebrew], which are two. Anyone who parts from it, it is as though he parted from life. And one who parts from Rabbi Shimon, it is as though he parted from everything.

412) …Woe unto a generation from which Rabbi Shimon departs, since when we stand before Rabbi Shimon, the fountains of the heart open to all directions and everything becomes revealed. And when we part from him, we know nothing and all the fountains close.

413) It is written, “And He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders.” It is like that candle from which several candles are lit, while it remains whole, with nothing subtracted from it due to the lighting of candles from it. So is Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, owner of the candles: he shines for all and the light does not depart from him, and he remains complete.

The Book of Zohar—Noah’s ark

BeHaalotcha [When You Mount the Candles]

88) “And the wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament” are the authors of the Kabbalah. They are the ones who exert in this brightness, called The Book of Zohar, which is like Noah’s ark, gathering two from a town, and seven kingdoms, and sometimes one from a town and two from a family, in whom the words, “Every son that is born you shall cast into the river” come true. The Torah is called “a son.” The newborn is the attained. “Into the river” means the light of Torah. “Cast” is like “You will study it” [it’s an anagram in Hebrew], where you study each insight that is born in you by the light of Torah and by its soul. This is the light of this Book of Zohar, and it is all because of you.

The Creator Sentences and the Righteous Revokes

VaYikra [The Lord Called]

240) There was no decree that was sentenced on the world from above that Rabbi Shimon did not revoke, as it is written, “The Rock of Israel spoke to me: ‘Ruler over men shall be the righteous; a righteous rules the fear of God.’” The Creator rules over man. Who rules over the Creator? The righteous rules, for the Creator sentences and the righteous revokes.

241) Such was Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai. One day he was sitting at the door of the gate to the city of Lod. He raised his eyes and saw that the sun was shining. He blocked its light three times. Thus, the light was darkened and black and green were seen in the sun. He said to Rabbi Elazar, his son, “Follow me, my son, and we will see; a decree must have been declared above and the Creator wishes to inform me.” Indeed, that thing which was sentenced hangs above for thirty days and the Creator does not act before He alerts the righteous, as it is written, “For the Lord God will do nothing, but He reveals His counsel unto His servants the prophets.”

242) While they were walking in that vineyard, they saw a serpent that came with its mouth open, blazing in the dust of the earth. Rabbi Shimon was disturbed and his hands struck the serpent’s head. The serpent went silent and lowered its mouth, and Rabbi Shimon saw its tongue dangling. He told it, “Serpent, serpent, go and tell that high serpent, which incites and slanders, that Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai is in the world.” The serpent put its head into a hole in the ground and Rabbi Shimon said, “I declare that as the lower serpent returned to the hole in the ground, the upper serpent will return to the hole of the great deep.”

243) Rabbi Shimon whispered a prayer. While they were praying, they heard a voice saying, “The sentences have ceased; return to your places. The strikes of the saboteurs are gone from the world because Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai cancelled them. Happy are you Rabbi Shimon that your Master wishes for your best more than for all the people in the world.” It is written about Moses, “And Moses besought,” meaning that he was sickened [in Hebrew, “besought” can also mean “be sick”]. But you, Rabbi Shimon, sentence, and the Creator keeps; He sentences and you revoke.

244) In the meantime, he saw that the sun had shone and that black was removed. Rabbi Shimon said, “It must be that the world has been perfumed.” He went into his house and interpreted, “For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; the upright shall behold His face.” What is “His face”? “For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness” because “The upright shall behold His face,” meaning the high faces of the people of the world, for they need to ask of the Creator for mercy for everything they need.

245) What is, “The upright shall behold His face”? These are the ancient days, the Sefirot of Atik, the hidden of all that are hidden, the Keter. And the days of the world are the Sefirot of ZA, which are called “His face.” They see each other in an upright way what they should see, meaning the Panim [face] of ZA sees the Panim of Atik, and the Panim of Atik sees the Panim of ZA in an upright way, without turning right or left.

246) When the Creator watches over the world and sees that the acts of people below are upright, Atik, which is Keter, appears in ZA, Tifferet, and all those Panim of ZA look at the hidden Panim of Atik. Then, all are blessed because they look at each other in an upright way, in the middle line, which leans neither to the right nor to the left. It is written about that, “The upright shall behold His face,” meaning that the faces of Atik and ZA look at each other in an upright way, in the middle line. And then they are all blessed and water each other until all the worlds are blessed and all the worlds are as one. At that time, it is considered that “The Lord is one and His name One.”

Beginning of the Idra Zuta

Haazinu [Give Ear]

26) Rabbi Shimon said, “It is a good time now and I would like to come to the next world without shame. Thus, I wish to disclose before Divinity sacred things that I have not disclosed thus far, lest it will be said that I departed from the world deficient. Thus far, they have been hidden in my heart to enter with them into the next world.

27) “This is how I am arranging you: Rabbi Aba will write, Rabbi Elazar will learn orally, and the rest of the friends will speak in their hearts.” Rabbi Aba rose behind his shoulders. Rabbi Elazar, his son, sat before him and Rabbi Shimon told him, “Arise, my son, for another will sit in this place.” Rabbi Elazar arose.

28) Rabbi Shimon cloaked in his garment and sat. He started and said, “The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any who go down to Dumah.” Indeed, “The dead do not praise the Lord,” for they are called “dead,” since the Creator is called “living,” and He is among those who are called “living,” the righteous ones, and not among those who are called “dead,” the wicked ones. And the end of the verse proves, as it is written, “Nor do any who go down to Dumah,” meaning all those who go down to Angel Dumah, who will remain in Hell. But not so are those who are called “living.” They are the righteous ones and the Creator wants to honor…

31) Rabbi Shimon started and said, “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me.” all the days that I have been tied to this world, I have been tied to the Creator with one knot. For this reason, now, “And his desire is for me,” for He and all His camp have come to joyfully hear hidden words and the praise of Holy Atik, the most hidden of all that are hidden, the most secluded and separated from all. But he is not separated, for everything clings to him and he clings to everything; he is everything.

The Departure of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai

Idra Zuta, Haazinu [Give Ear]

196) Rabbi Aba said, “The Holy Light did not complete saying life before his words abated. And I wrote, and thought that I would write some more, but I did not hear. I did not raise my head, for the light was great and I could not look. In the meantime, I was shaken; I heard a voice calling and saying, ‘Length of days and years of life.’ Then I heard another voice, ‘He asked life of You.’”

197) The whole of that day, the fire did not stop from the house, but there was none to reach him. They could not, since the light and the fire surrounded him. That whole day, I was fallen on the earth and cried bitterly. Once the fire went, I saw the Holy Light, the holy of holies, departed from the world, cloaked and lying on his right side, and his face was smiling.

198) Rabbi Elazar, his son, arose, took his hands, and kissed them. And I licked the dust under his feet. The friends wished to cry but could not speak. The friends began to cry, and Rabbi Elazar, his son, fell three times and could not open his mouth. Afterwards, he started and said, “My father, my father, they were three and they have become one again.” That is, there were three great ones in the land—Rabbi Elazar, his father, Rashbi, and his grandfather, Rabbi Pinhas, son of Yair—and now Rabbi Elazar remained orphaned from is grandfather and from his father, Rashbi. He remained alone in the world. Now that this great tree has left. Under it, the animals of the field would stroll, in its branches, the birds of the sky would dwell, and nourishments for all were in it. Now the animals migrated and the birds of the trees that sat on its branches settle in the holes of the great sea. And the friends, instead of the nourishment that they received from it, they drink blood.

199) Rabbi Hiya rose to his feet and said, “Thus far the Holy Light was watching over us. Now it is the time to toil only for his glory.”

Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Aba rose and took him from his place onto a bed that was made as a ladder, to raise him to his bed. Who saw the confusion of the friends? And the whole house was smelling of good fragrances. They raised him to his bed and only Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Aba served him.

200) Strikers and men with shields came from the village Tzippori, and wished to bury him in their place. They came to take him by force and by war. The children of Meron drove them away and yelled at them in hordes, for they did not want him buried there, but that he would be buried in their place. When the bed was out of the house, it rose in the air and fire was flaming before it. They heard a voice, “Come in, come and gather for the celebration of Rabbi Shimon, may peace come and they will rest in peace.”

201) When he entered the cave they heard a voice inside the cave. That man was quaking the land, irritating from Malchut, several slanderers in the firmament are quieted on this day for you. This is Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, whose Master praises every day. Happy is he above and below. Several high treasures are kept for him. It was said about him, “And you, go to the end and rest and rise again for your fate at the end of the right.”

 

Desire

 

 

Peace

 

 

Joy

 

 

Torah

 

All the Good

Chayei Sarah [The Life of Sarah]

219) “Open my eyes, that I may see wonders from Your law.” How foolish are people, for they do not know and do not consider engaging in the Torah. But the Torah is the whole of life, and every freedom and every goodness in this world and in the next world. Life in this world is to be rewarded with all their days in this world, as it is written, “The number of thy days I will fulfill.” And he will be rewarded with long days in the next world, for it is the perfect life, a life of joy, life without sadness, life that is life—freedom in this world and liberation from everything.

Freedom from the Angel of Death

Chayei Sarah [The Life of Sarah]

220) …the Torah is freedom from the angel of death, so he cannot control him.

Certainly, if Adam were to cling to the tree of life, which is the Torah, he would not cause death to himself or to the whole world. But because he left the tree of life, which is the Torah, and ate from the tree of knowledge, he caused death to himself and to the world. For this reason, the Creator gave the Torah to Israel.

It is written, “Harut [carved] on the tables; do not pronounce it Harut, but rather Herut [freedom],” for then they were liberated from the angel of death. Had Israel not sinned with the calf and not departed the tree of life, which is the Torah, they would not cause death to return to the world to begin with.

And the Creator said, “I said, ‘You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High,’” meaning upon the reception of the Torah. And since you damaged yourselves, meaning sinned, you will indeed die as humans. Hence, that evil serpent that darkened the world cannot govern anyone who engages in the Torah.

Upper Life

VaYishlach [And Jacob Sent]

46) “Happy is the man that fears always; but he that hardens his heart shall fall into evil.” Happy are Israel, for the Creator desires them and gave them the true law, to be rewarded by it with everlasting life. The Creator draws the upper life upon anyone who engages in Torah, and brings him to the life of the next world, as it is written, “For He is your life, and the length of your days.” And it is written, “And through this thing ye shall prolong your days,” because she is life in this world and life in the next world.

The World Was Created with the Torah

Teruma [Donation]

635) When the Creator created the world, He looked in the Torah and created the world. The world was created with the Torah, as it is written, “And I was beside Him an Amon [apprentice].” Do not pronounce it, Amon, but Oman [craftsman], for the Torah is the craftsmanship of the world…

639) It is written in the Torah, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” He looked in this word and created the heaven. It is written in the Torah, “And God said, ‘Let there be light.’” He looked in this word and created the light. And so it was with each and every word that is written in the Torah: the Creator looked, and did that thing. This is why it is written, “And I was beside Him an Oman [craftsman],” as the whole world was created.

640) When the world was created, not a thing existed before there was the desire to create man, so he will engage in Torah, and for that, the world existed. Now, anyone who looks in the Torah and engages in it, seemingly sustains the entire world. The Creator looked in the Torah and created the world; man looks in the Torah and sustains the world. It follows that the deed and the keeping of the entire world is the Torah. For this reason, happy is he who engages in the Torah, for he sustains the world.

One Who Engages in Torah Sustains the World

Toldot [Generations]

3) Anyone who engages in Torah sustains the world and sustains each and every operation in the world in its proper way. Also, there is not an organ in a man’s body that does not have a corresponding creation in the world.

This is so because as man’s body divides into organs and they all stand degree over degree, established one atop the other and are all one body, similarly, the world, meaning all creations in the world are many organs standing one atop the other, and they are all one body. And when they are all corrected they will actually be one body. And everything, man and the world, will be like the Torah because the whole of Torah is organs and joints standing one atop the other. And when the world is corrected they will become one body.

Studying for the Creator

Lech Lecha [Go Forth]

282) When Rabbi Abba came from Babel, he declared, “Whomever wishes for wealth and whomever wishes for long days in the next world will engage in the Torah!” The whole world gathered unto him to engage in the Torah.

A bachelor, a man vacant of a woman, was in his neighborhood. One day, he came to him and told him, “I want to learn Torah so as to have wealth.” Rabbi Abba told him, “You will certainly be rewarded with wealth through the Torah.” He sat, and engaged in the Torah.

283) In time, he said, “Rabbi, where is the wealth?” Rabbi Abba replied, “It means that you are not studying for the Creator,” and he walked into his room to consider what to do about him. He heard a voice saying, “Do not punish him, for he will be a great man.” He returned to him and told him, “Sit, my son, sit, and I will give you wealth.”

284) In the meantime, a man walked in holding a golden vessel. He took it out so it would be seen, and its shine radiated in the house. He said, “Rabbi, I want to be rewarded with the Torah. I myself have not been privileged with understanding the Torah, and I ask that someone will engage for me. I have great wealth, which my father had left for me.” While he was seated at his desk, he set up thirteen cups of gold on it. “I want to be rewarded with the Mitzva [good deed] of studying the Torah, and in return, I will give wealth.”

285) He said to that man, who did not have a wife, “You engage in Torah, and this man will give you wealth.” The man gave him that gold cup. Rabbi Abba said about him, “Gold or glass cannot equal it,nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.” He sat and engaged in Torah, and that man was giving him wealth.

286) In time, the beauty of Torah came within him. One day, he was sitting and crying. His rabbi found him crying and asked him, “Why are you crying?” He replied, “And what am I neglecting for this wealth—the life of the next world! I do not want to study for the man any longer; I want to be rewarded with the Torah for myself.” Rabbi Abba said, “Now it means that he is already studying for the Creator.”

287) He called upon that man and told him, “Take your wealth and give it to orphans and poor, and I will give you a greater share in the Torah, in everything we learn.” He gave him back the gold cup. There is no better reward in the world than one who engages in Torah. And there is no need for anything in return for it, as it is written, “Gold or glass cannot equal it,nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.”

Torah that Does Not Rise Up

VaYechi [Jacob Lived]

293) “What advantage does man have in all his work, which he does under the sun?” The toil of Torah, too, means to toil under the sun. The toil of Torah is different; it is above the sun, from the upper ones. Thus, so is the toil of Torah. It is said about it, “What advantage does man have in all his work, which he does under the sun?” whether he toils in Torah for people or for his own honor. It is about that that the verse says, “Under the sun,” since this Torah does not rise, and even if one lived a thousand years, on the day he departs from the world, it will seem to him as though he lived only one day.

Words of Torah Require Intention

Noah

275) It is written, “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel,” and it is written, “Be silent and listen, O Israel,” for words of Torah require intention, and must be corrected in the body and will as one.

276) …Words of Torah require correction of the body and correction of the heart.

Sublime Secrets that Appear for a Moment and Disappear Once More

Toldot [Generations]

4) The Torah holds all the hidden, sublime, and unattainable secrets. The Torah holds all the sublime, revealed, and unrevealed matters, that is, that for their profoundness, they appear to the eye of the one who observes them and soon after disappear. Then they briefly reappear and disappear, and so on and so forth before those who scrutinize them. The Torah holds all the things that are above in the Upper World and that are below. And everything in this world and everything in the next world is in the Torah, and there is no one to observe and to know them.

Awaken the Love

Mishpatim [Ordinances]

99) A loved one, comely and beautiful, hides in her palace. She has a lover, of whom people do not know, but he is hiding. That lover, for the love that he loves her, always passes by the gate to her house and raises his eyes to every direction. She knows that her lover is always surrounding the gate to her house. She opens a little door in her palace and shows her face to her lover, and immediately covers herself again. All those who were with the lover did not see and did not look, only the lover alone, whose heart and soul cling after her. And he knows that for the love that she loves him, she appears to him for a moment, to evoke the love for him.

So is a word of Torah: she appears only for her lover. The Torah knows that that wise-of-heart surrounds the gate to her house each day. What did she do? She showed her face to him from within the palace and hinted him a hint, then promptly returned to her place and hid. All those from there neither knew nor looked, but he alone, and his heart and soul follow her. Hence, the Torah appears and disappears, and walks with love toward the one who loves her, to awaken the love with him.

The Torah Does Not Tell Literal Stories

BeHaalotcha [When You Mount]

58) Woe unto one who says that the Torah comes to tell literal tales and the uneducated words of such as Esau and Laban. If this is so, even today we can turn the words of an uneducated person into a law, and even nicer than theirs. And if the Torah indicates to mundane matters, even the rulers of the world have among them better things, so let us follow them and turn them into a law in the same way. However, all the words of the Torah have the uppermost meaning.

59) The upper world and the lower world are judged the same. Israel below correspond to the high angels above. It is written of the high angels, “Who makes winds His messengers,” and when they come down, they clothe in dresses of this world. Had they not clothed in dresses such as in this world, they would not be able to stand in this world, and the world would not tolerate them. And if this is so with angels, it is all the more so with the law that created the angels and all the worlds, and they exist for it. Moreover, when it came down to this world, the world could not tolerate it if it had not clothed in these mundane clothes, which are the tales and words of the uneducated.

60) Hence, this story in the Torah is a clothing of the Torah. And one who considers this clothing as the actual Torah and nothing else, damned will be his spirit, and he will have no share in the next world. This is the reason why David said, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law,” that is, gaze upon what lies beneath the clothing of the Torah.

61) There is an openly visible clothing, and when fools see a person dressed handsomely, whose dress seems elegant, they look no further and judge him by his elegant clothes. They regard the clothes as the man’s body and regard the man’s body as his soul.

62) Such is the Torah. It has a body, which is the Mitzvot of the Torah, which are called “the bodies of the Torah.” This body clothes in dresses, which are mundane stories, and the fools in the world consider only that clothing, which is the story of the Torah. They do not know more and do not consider what exists underneath that clothing.

Those who know more do not consider the clothing, but the body under that clothing. But the sages, the servants of the High King, those who stood on Mount Sinai, consider only the soul in the Torah, which is the essence of it all, the actual law. In the future, they will gaze upon the soul within the soul of the Torah.

63) This is also how it is above. There is Levush [clothing], Guf [body], Neshama [soul], and Neshama to Neshama. The heavens and their hosts are the Levush, and the assembly of Israel is Malchut—the Guf that receives the Neshama, which is the Tifferet [glory] of Israel, ZA. Hence, Malchut is the Guf to the Neshama, for ZA clothes in her like a soul in the body. The Neshama is Tifferet,Israel, the actual law, the soul of the Torah, upon which the sages gaze.

And Neshama to Neshama is Atika Kadisha [the Holy, Ancient One], upon whom they will gaze in the future. All are intertwined: Atika Kadisha clothes in ZA, ZA clothes in Malchut, and Malchut in the worlds BYA and all their hosts.

64) Woe unto the wicked ones who say that the Torah is nothing more than fables and consider only the clothing. Happy are the righteous who consider the Torah as they should. As wine sits only in a jar, the Torah dwells only in that clothing. Hence, one needs to regard what is found under the clothing, which is why all these tales are dresses.

To Whom Does the Torah Seem Empty

VaYetze [Jacob Went Out]

341) Woe unto the wicked of the world who do not know and do not look at words of Torah. And when they do look at it, because there is no wisdom in them, the words of Torah seem to them as though they were empty and useless words. It is all because they are devoid of knowledge and wisdom, since all the words in the Torah are sublime and precious words, and each and every word that is written there is more precious than pearls, and no object can compare to it.

342) When all the fools whose heart is blocked see the words of Torah, not only do they not know, but they even say that the words are spoiled, useless words, woe unto them. When the Creator seeks them out for the disgrace of the Torah, they will be punished with a punishment fit for one who rebels against one’s Master.

343) It is written in the Torah, “For it is no vain thing.” And if it is vain, it is only vain for you, since the Torah is filled with every good stone and precious gem, from all the abundance in the world.

344) King Solomon said, “If you are wise, you are wise for yourself.” This is so because when one grows wise in the Torah, it is to his benefit, not for the Torah, since he cannot add even a single letter to the Torah. “And if you scorn, you alone shall bear it,” for nothing shall be subtracted from the praise of Torah because of that. His scorn is his alone and he will remain in it, to annihilate him from this world and from the next world.

A Healing for All the World’s Troubles

VaYechi [Jacob Lived]

317) The people of the world will shout but no one will watch over them. Their heads will search in every direction for some salvation but they will not return with any cure for their plight. But I have found them one remedy in the world: Where they engage in Torah, and a book of Torah that is unflawed is among them, when they take it out, the upper ones and lower ones will awaken. And it is all the more so if the Holy Name is written in it properly.

Written Torah and Oral Torah

New Zohar, Toldot [Generations]

13) All the upper fathers who are gripped above—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, and Joseph—are all implied in the written Torah, the Torah of HaVaYaH. This is because they are the six edges of Zeir Anpin, who is called HaVaYaH, and about whom it is written, “The law of the Lord [HaVaYaH].” Hence, they are all written Torah.

David, who is gripped outside of them, is the oral Torah, Malchut, and is implied in words of reception, meaning in the writings. This is the reason why Malchut is called “reception,” since she receives light from the written Torah, who is called Tzadik [righteous], Yesod, and it is called Joseph, and it is called “all.”

 

Torah – Night Study

 

 

Correction

 

Whatever You Find that You Have the Power to Do, Do

Pinhas

134) “Whatever you find that you have the power to do, do.” How good it is for a person to exert to do his Master’s will while the candle is lit and is present over his head, since the light of the candle is a power that is over him. It is written about it, “Let the power of the Lord grow.” This is the power of the Creator that is present over the head of the righteous and all those who engage in their Master’s will, who is Divinity.

Intermediate

Bo [Come unto Pharaoh]

211) “One should always consider oneself as though the whole world depends on him,” meaning he should consider himself and the whole world as intermediate. And if he keeps one commandment, he sentences himself and the whole world to a scale of merit. And if he commits one transgression, he sentences himself and the whole world to a scale of sin.

Support from the Creator

VaYetze [Jacob Went Out]

350) King David always attached himself to the Creator. He had no concern for any other thing in the world, but to adhere to Him with his soul and will, as it is written, “My soul clings to You.” And since he always clung to the Creator, He supported him and did not leave him, as it is written, “Your right supported me.” We learn from it that when one comes to cling to the Creator, the Creator holds him and does not leave him.

The Awakening of the Upper One

Lech Lecha [Go Forth]

231) The awakening of the upper one is only through the awakening of the lower one because the awakening of the upper one depends on the craving of the lower one.

When One Comes to Purify

Lech Lecha [Go Forth]

268) It is written, “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me.” In the beginning, “I am my beloved’s,” and afterwards, “And his desire is for me.” “I am my beloved’s” is to first set up a place for him with an awakening from below, and then, “And his desire is for me.”

269) Divinity is not present with the wicked. When a person comes to purify and bring himself closer to the Creator, Divinity is over him. It is written about it, “I am my beloved’s,” first, and then, “And his desire is for me,” since when one comes to purify, he is purified.

One Who Sanctifies Is Sanctified

VaYikra [The Lord Called]

423) Happy are the righteous, for they have a high share in the Creator, in the holy share, in the King’s sanctities, since they sanctify themselves in the sanctities of their Master. And anyone who sanctifies, the Creator sanctifies him, as it is written, “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy.” A person who sanctifies himself from below is sanctified from above. And when one sanctifies with the sanctity of his Master, his is clothed with a holy soul, which is the inheritance of the Creator and the assembly of Israel, for the soul is an offspring of ZON. And then he inherits everything. These are the ones who are called, “children of the Creator,” as it is written, “You are the children of the Lord your God.”

Building of the Temple

Noah

323) “The house, while it was being built, was built of a perfect stone carried.” “The house, while it was being built” means it was being built by itself. But did Solomon and all the craftsmen who were there not build it?

324) Indeed, so it is, as it is written, “The lamp shall be made of one piece.” If it is one piece, which means that the craftsmen were beating the bar with a sledge-hammer, then what is, “Shall be made”? It means it was made by itself. Of course, everything at the Temple was made by itself, by token and a miracle. When the craftsmen began to work, the work taught the craftsmen who to do it, which they did not know how to do prior to beginning it.

325) What is the reason? It is because the blessing of the Creator was on them. This is why it is written, “While it was being built,” for it was built by itself, since it taught the craftsmen the learning, how to begin to do it, and the registration of that work would literally be going out of their eyes, and they would look at that registration and work until the entire house was built.

Making the Sanctuary

Pekudei [Accounts]

15) When the Creator said unto Moses, “Make the Tabernacle,” Moses was bewildered; he did not know what to do until the Creator vividly showed him, as it is written, “And see and make them after their pattern, which is being shown to you in the mountain.” “In their pattern” means that the Creator showed Moses everything in its higher, spiritual shape, and each of the spiritual shapes above was making its shape similar to the fictitious shape that was made below, on earth. This is how Moses knew.

16) “Which is being shown to you in the mountain.” The mirror that does not shine, Malchut was showing him within her all the manners and forms that are being done below.

17) It is written, “Which is being shown to you.” “You” is the mirror that does not shine, Malchut, which showed him within her all these forms. And Moses saw each of them in its corrected form, as one who sees within a crystal lamp, within a mirror that shows all the forms.

And when Moses gazed upon them, he found them perplexing, since there, in Malchut, everything stood in its spiritual form, but each form equalized its shape to the fictitious shape in this world, in the Tabernacle. It turns out that two forms were apparent: the spiritual one and the fictitious one. This is why Moses was bewildered; he did not know which of them to grasp. The Creator told him, “You with your signs, and I with Mine,” that Moses would perceive the fictitious signs in every thing and the Creator perceives the spiritual signs of every thing, and then the spiritual form is placed over the fictitious form. Then Moses was settled in all the work of the Tabernacle.

The Donkey Driver

Teruma [Donation]

536) Rabbi Yosi and Rabbi Hiya were walking along the way and a donkey driver was leading the donkeys behind them. Rabbi Yosi said to Rabbi Hiya, “We should engage and exert in words of Torah because the Creator is walking ahead of us, hence it is time to make corrections for Him, so He will be with us on this way.” A donkey driver stings the donkeys with a piece of wood to make them walk faster.

537) Rabbi Hiya started and said, “It is time to do for the Lord; they have broken Your law.” Anytime when the Torah exists in the world and people engage in it, the Creator is seemingly happy with His works, there is joy in all the worlds, and heaven and earth maintain their existence. Moreover, the Creator gathers His entire household and tells them, “See the holy people that I have in the land, the Torah is crowned because of them, see My works, of whom you have said, ‘What is man, that I should remember him?’” And they, when they see their Master’s joy, they promptly start and say, “And who is as Your people, as Israel, one nation in the land.”

538) And when Israel idle away from the Torah, His might seemingly fades, as it is written, “You neglected the Rock who begot you,” and then it is written, “And all the host of heaven stand.” Hence, it is time to do for the Lord. Those righteous that remained should muster their strength and do good deeds so that the Creator will be strengthened with the righteous and with His camps and armies, since they have broken Your law and the people do not engage in it properly.

539) The donkey driver, who was leading the donkeys behind them, told them, “Please, I would like to know one question.” Rabbi Yosi replied, “Certainly, the road is set before us, ask your question.” He said, “This verse, had it said, ‘It should be done’ or ‘It was done,’ I would say so. What is ‘Time’? And also, it is written, ‘To do for the Lord.’ It should have said, ‘Before the Lord.’ What is ‘To do for the Lord’?” Rabbi Yosi said, “The road is set before us in several ways: One, that we were two and now we are three, for Divinity has been included with us. One, that I thought you were as a dry tree, while you are as fresh as an olive. And one, that you asked very well, and since you have begun to speak, do speak.”

540) He started and said, “Time to do for the Lord,” since there is a time and there is a time—a time to love and a time to hate. A time above, faith, Malchut, is called ‘Time.’ This is called ‘A time of good will,’ and it means that man must always love the Creator, as it is written, ‘And you shall love the Lord your God.’ About that, the time to love, it is a time, meaning that one must love.

541) “And there is another time, which is another god, which one must hate and not follow him with his heart. Hence, it is a time to hate. And this is why it is written, ‘Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place.’

542) “When Israel engage in Torah and in the Mitzvot [commandments] of the Torah, at that time the holy faith, Malchut, is corrected in her corrections and is fully adorned as it should be. And when Israel do not engage in Torah, at that time it is seemingly not corrected and is incomplete, and not in the light. Then it is time to do for the Lord.

543) “What is ‘To do for the Lord’? It is written, ‘That God has created to do.’ What is ‘To do’? It means that bodies of demons remained, which were not done because the day has been sanctified, and they remained to do because they are spirits without bodies. Here, too, it is time to do, the time remained without correction and without wholeness because they have broken Your law, for Israel have been idling away from words of Torah, for that time is so, either ascending or descending for Israel. If they engage in Torah, it ascends. If they idle away from the Torah, it descends.”

544) Rabbi Yosi said, “It is indeed beneath you to lead the donkeys behind us. Happy is this road, for we have been rewarded with hearing this. Happy is the generation that Rabbi Shimon is inside it, that wisdom is found even among the mountains.” Rabbi Yosi and Rabbi Hiya came down from their donkeys and the three of them walked along the way.

By What One Assumes in One’s Heart

VaYera [The Lord Appeared]

153) “Her husband is known in the gates” is the Creator, who is known and attained by what each assumes in his heart, to the extent that he can attain by the spirit of the wisdom. Thus, according to that which one assumes in one’s heart, He is known in his heart. This is why it is written, “Known in the gates,” in those measures [the same word as “gates” in Hebrew] that each assumes in his heart. But it should be properly known that there is no one who can attain and know Him.

154) “Her husband is known in the gates.” What are gates? It is written, “Lift up your heads, O gates.” By these gates, which are high degrees, by them is the Creator known. Were it not for these gates, they would not be able to attain in Him.

Correction Is Only in This World

Korah

31) One should not say, “When I come into that world, I will beg for mercy of the King, and will repent before Him.” Rather, it is written about that, “There is no deed or contemplation or knowledge or wisdom” once a person departs this world. If one wishes for the Holy King to shine for him in that world and give him a share in the next world, he should engage in including his deeds in the right in this world, and that all his actions will be for the Creator.

248 Organs of the Soul

Shoftim [Judges]

8) Happy is he who grips to the tree of life, ZA, with his body and with his organs, which is a candle. Each and every branch is a candle of Mitzva, in his 248 Mitzvot, which correspond to the 248 organs, a candle of Mitzva for each organ.

9) When both of them, the tree of life and the candle of Mitzva, meaning ZA and Malchut, grip the same person, the words, “And he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed,” come true, referring to man. And SAM and the serpent and all his appointees, which are thorns, grip to the man’s body and burn, while the branches of the bush, its fruits, and the leaves do not burn. This is what the Creator showed Moses.

365 Tendons of the Soul

Pekudei [Accounts]

151) Explaining the correction of Yesod of the Malchut, which was done by the effect of ZA. There are 365 tendons under the influence of the hoses—white, black, red, included in one another, and they have become one color. These tendons are reticulated in seventeen nets, and each net is called “tendons.” They are webbed in one another and descend at the end of the abyss, the Yesod in Malchut, called “abyss.” Under these, two nets stand in a mirror of iron and two other nets in a mirror of copper.

Tendons are illumination of Hochma on the left of Bina, which extends to Malchut. They are called tendons because they are from Bina, since KHB is called Mocha, Atzamot, Gidin.

A Goat for Azazel

Emor [speak]

236) “And Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats.” This is an honor for Azazel because have you seen that a servant casts lots equally with his master? Usually, a servant receives what his master gives, but because on that day, Sam’el was ready to gossip about Israel, to prevent him from having something to say, he is given a share in it.

238) And not only that, each time the slanderer is ready and is given permission, it should be given something to deal with, and leave Israel alone.

Rebuke out of Love

Ki Tazria [When a Woman Delivers]

72) How do we know that? It is written, “Better is open rebuke than love that is hidden,” which means that open rebuke is better. And if the rebuke is out of love, it is hidden from people. Similarly, one who rebukes one’s friend with love must hide his words from people so his friend will not be shamed by them. And if his words are open before people, they are not with love.

73) So is the Creator. When He rebukes a person, He rebukes him with love in everything. First, He strikes him in his body, from within. If he repents, good. If not, He strikes him under his clothes. And these are called “Pangs of love.” If he repents, good. If not, He strikes him openly in his face, in front of everyone, so people will look at him and know that he is a sinner and is not loved by his Master.

A Year—a Cycle of Correction

Emor [Speak]

193) When this Shofar [festive horn] awakens and people repent from their iniquities, they must draw from below by the sound of a Shofar, and that sound rises up. At that time, another Shofar awakens above, meaning Bina, Rachamim [mercies] awaken, and the Din [judgment] departs…

Every Rosh Hashanah [Hebrew New Year’s Eve], the world returns to its beginning, as it was on the fourth day of creation, when Malchut was diminished. This is so because Malchut is called “a year,” and the twelve months of the year are the order of her corrections from her beginning to the end of correction. If the year is completed and its correction is not completed, she is given for us to correct on the next year, and we need to start over from initiation, as she was on the fourth day of creation. And so it is every single year until the end of correction.

A Prayer for the Poor

Yitro [Jethro]

414) “A Prayer for the poor, when he is cloaked, and pours out his complaint before the Lord.” All the prayers of Israel are prayers, and a prayer for the poor is the highest because it rises up to the King’s throne and crowns His head, and the Creator is praised indeed in that prayer. For this reason, a prayer for the poor is called “a prayer.”

415) “When he is cloaked.” This cloaking is not cloaking of clothes, since he has no clothes. Rather, it is written here “When he is cloaked,” and it is written there, “Who are cloaked in hunger.” Here, too, “When he is cloaked” is in hunger. “And pours out his complaint before the Lord” means that he will cry out before his Master. It is convenient for him before the Creator because the world exists in Him when there are no other sustainers of the world in the world. Woe unto one that that poor cries out about him to his Master, since the poor is the closest to the King, as it is written, “And it shall come to pass that when he cries out to Me, I will hear him, for I am gracious.”

416) And as for the rest of the people in the world, at times He hears them, at times He does not hear, since the abode of the Creator is in those broken Kelim [vessels], as it is written, “And the oppressed and the low-spirited.” And it is written, “The Lord is near to the broken-hearted.” “A broken and an oppressed heart, O God, You will not despise.”

Gates of Tears

Pekudei [Accounts]

489) Above the palace door, there is another door, which the Creator dug out of Dinim [judgments] of Miftacha [key], which is “A well that the ministers have dug.” It opens three times a day, meaning that three lines illuminate in it, and it does not close, and stands open for those who repent, who have shed tears in their prayer before their Master.

And all the gates and the doors close until they enter the domain, except for these gates, which are called “gates of tears.” They are open and need no permission, since the first gate is “Sin crouches at the door,” and there the Malchut of Man’ula [lock] is present, ten thousand. In that discernment, repentance does not help, for it is the quality of judgment. However, the Creator dug a second door above it, from the Miftacha, which is Malchut that is mitigated in Bina, and there repentance helps.

490) When this prayer in tears rises through these gates, that Ofan, who is an angel from Malchut, comes. He is called Ofan, and he stands over six hundred big animals, and his name is Yerachmiel. He takes the prayer in tears, the prayer enters and is sanctified above, and the tears remain here. And they are written in a door that the Creator dug.

The prayer in tears raises MAN for correction of the key, to raise Malchut to Bina; hence, the prayer is accepted and the tears remain carved on the door, where they cause the mitigation of Malchut in Bina. Dema [tearing] comes from the word mixing, for it mixes and mingles Malchut in Bina.

Prayer of Many

VaYechi [Jacob Lived]

514) Indeed, all the prayers in the world, meaning prayers of many, are prayers. But a solitary prayer does not enter before the Holy King, unless with great force. This is so because before the prayer enters to be crowned in its place, the Creator watches it, observes it, and observes the sins and merits of that person, which He does not do with a prayer of many, where several of the prayers are not from righteous, and they all enter before the Creator and He does not notice their iniquities.

515) “He has regarded the prayer of the destitute.” He turns the prayer and examines it from all sides, and considers with which desire the prayer was made, who is the person who prayed that prayer, and what are his deeds. Hence, one should pray one’s prayer in the collective, since He does not despise their prayer, even though they are not all with intent and the will of heart, as it is written, “He has regarded the prayer of the destitute.” Thus, He only observes the prayer of an individual, but with a prayer of many, He does not despise their prayer, even though they are unworthy.

516) “He has regarded the prayer of the destitute” means that He accepts his prayer, but it is an individual who is mingled with many. Hence, his prayer is as a prayer of many. And who is an individual who is mingled with many? It is Jacob, for he contains both sides—right and left, Abraham and Isaac, and he calls out to his sons and prays his prayer for them.

And what is the prayer that is fully granted above? It is a prayer that the children of Israel will not perish in the exile. This is because every prayer in favor of Divinity is received in full. And when Israel are in exile, Divinity is with them. This is why the prayer is regarded as being in favor of Divinity and is accepted in full.

I dwell among My Own People

VaYetze [Jacob Went Out]

284) Wherever a person prays his prayer, he should incorporate himself in the public, in the manifold public, as it is written about Shunammite when Elisha told her, “Would you be spoken for to the king or to the captain of the army?” “Would you be spoken for to the king,” since that day was the festival of the first day of the year, and the day when Malchut of the firmament rules and sentences the world. At that time, the Creator is called “The king of the sentence,” and this is why he told her, “Would you be spoken for to the king,” since he called the Creator “King.”

285) And she said, “I dwell among my own people.” In other words, she said, “I have no wish to be mentioned above, but to put my head among the masses and not leave the public.” Similarly, man should be included in the public and not stand out as unique, so the slanderers will not look at him and mention his sins.

Quantity and Quality

Teruma [Donation]

694) When the Creator comes to the house of gathering and the whole people come together, pray, thank, and praise the Creator, it is the glory of the King, for the Creator is established with beauty and correction to rise up to Aba and Ima.

695) When the Creator comes to the house of gathering early and the people did not come to pray and to praise the Creator, the whole of the governance above and all those upper appointees and camps break from that elevation of theirs, which they correct in the corrections of the King, the Creator.

696) The reason why they break from their elevation is that when Israel below establish their prayers and litanies, and praise the high King, all those upper camps praise and become corrected in the sacred correction, since all the upper camps are friends with Israel below, to praise the Creator together so that the rising of the Creator will be above and below at the same time.

697) And when the angels come to be friends with Israel, to praise the Creator together, and Israel below do not come to establish their prayers and litanies, and to praise their Master, all the holy camps in the upper government break from their corrections. It is so because they do not rise in an ascension, since they cannot praise their Master because the praises of the Creator must be above and below together, upper and lower at the same time. This is why it was said, “Deficiency of thinness,” and not “Deficient of a king,” as it concerns only the camps of angels, not the King Himself.

698) And even though not many came to the house of gathering, but only ten, the upper camps come into these ten, to be friends with them and to praise the Creator, since all the King’s corrections are in ten. Hence, ten are enough, if they are not more.