ביום השמיני שלח את העם ויברכו את המלך…

1“On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart,” etc. (See on this in the Gemara, chapter 2 of Shabbos, folio 30a; chapter 1 of Moed Katan, folio 9a; in Midrash Rabbah, Parshas Noach, chapter 35; and in Megillas Esther, on the verse “when the king’s heart was merry.”)

Now, on Shemini Atzeres all Israel receive the flow [of influence] for their conduct in their Torah and their divine service for the whole year. This is the matter of “He causes the rain to fall,” which is said from Shemini Atzeres until Pesach; and from then on, “He causes the dew to fall.”

Now, every single year there must first be Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkos, and afterwards Shemini Atzeres.

The explanation is as follows. It is written, “Then the maiden shall rejoice in the dance,” etc. “The maiden” is the level of Knesses Yisrael, the source of all the souls of Israel.

(See Tanna deVei Eliyahu, Part 1, chapter 26; the Zohar, Parshas Emor, folio 89a and the end of side b, on “without blemish,” etc.; see the end of Parshas Pinchas, folio 258, the beginning of side b, on “You shall offer a burnt offering” and “You shall make a burnt offering”; and see Me’orei Or, letter Beis, section 44.)

“In the dance” (bamachol) has two meanings. The first is in the sense of forgiveness (mechilah) of sin. The second is its plain sense: dancing in circles (mecholos). (See Rabbah on Song of Songs, on the verse “like the dance of the two camps.”) That is to say, the joy of Knesses Yisrael in her Maker is

like, by way of analogy, those who dance in a circle: one moves away from the other and comes back and draws near, and the moving away is the cause of the drawing near, since it is not a true distance, for the distance is not the inner intent; rather, this is simply the way of dancing.

(See what is explained in the maamar beginning “On the day of Shemini Atzeres,” on the verse “A wise son makes a father glad.”) And so it is with the joy of Knesses Yisrael: it is in a mode of distance and nearness, yet not actual distance, G‑d forbid, but in the mode of ratzo and shov (running and returning), since it is impossible to be always in the state of ratzo.

As the saying goes, “If your heart runs, return to the One,” for even in the state of shov she is bound to the One G‑d, etc. This will be understood by first introducing what is written, “You shall love Havayah your G‑d with all your heart (levavcha)” — with both your inclinations.

Now, to understand how there can be love of G‑d with the evil inclination, which is called “evil” (see what is explained on this in the maamar beginning “Who is enthroned on high”): the explanation is that there are two hearts in a person, namely the right chamber and the left chamber.

The right one always turns to the love of G‑d and to cleaving to Him, and the left is the opposite: to love foreign, physical things. This is because the soul, in the source from which it was hewn, has two aspects,

as it is written, “Behind and before You have formed me.” (See on this Midrash Rabbah at the beginning of Parshas Tazria, “If he is worthy,” etc.; Zohar II, Beshalach, folio 55a; and the Mikdash Melech there.)

This means: “behind” — with regard to the work of creation, for man was created last of all the creatures; and “before” — for Israel arose in [G‑d’s] thought, and “Bereishis” [means] for the sake of Israel, who are called “reishis” (first), etc.

As our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “With whom did He take counsel? With the souls of the righteous” — and not the righteous alone, but as it is written, “And your people are all righteous,” etc.

And it descended step by step and came down to be at the level of the last of all created beings in [the order of] action. Moreover, [man] is lower in rank than all the creatures, to the point that man receives his life-force from the inanimate, the vegetative and the animal; and “last in deed, first in thought.”

This is because the source from which the soul was hewn is at the level of “their beginning is wedged in their end,” which is drawn from the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), etc.

(See what is explained on this in the maamar beginning “When you go out,” on the matter of “Whoever kills the snake is given the king’s daughter,” and what is explained in the maamar beginning “These are the journeys,” on the matter of “And these are their journeys according to their goings forth.”

Now, this level is revealed in the right chamber of the heart, which is full of the spirit (ruach) of life, whereas the left chamber is the dwelling place of the blood, which is the nefesh; and ruach is higher than the level of nefesh. And it is written, “The spirit of man that ascends upward” — this is what is explained in the maamar beginning “Give ear,” regarding “and the spirit returns,” etc.

And the meaning of “that ascends” (ha’olah) is like what is written, “You shall offer a burnt offering (olah).” See the commentary of the Ramaz on the Zohar at the beginning of Parshas Tzav, where he writes, “In my view, this is the mystery of ‘the spirit of man that ascends upward’”; and see Rabbah at the beginning of Parshas Tazria, there, on the matter of “and the spirit of G‑d hovered,” etc.)

From this it follows that in the heart of every person there is ratzo and shov. The state of ratzo is at the level of the inner dimension of the point of the heart, in the right chamber: that his soul pines for G‑d, and pours itself out into the bosom of its Father from the depths of the heart.

(See on the matter of “And the chayos ran and returned” in the Idra Zuta (folio 288, the beginning of side b, and folio 293b), and in the Sifra deTzniusa in the Zohar, at the end of Parshas Terumah (folio 176b and folio 177, the end of side a),

and in Parshas Vayeitzei (folio 177b), in the Sisrei Torah, and in the Raaya Mehemna, Parshas Pinchas (folio 255b). From the passage in the Idra Zuta it is understood that the level of ratzo and shov is drawn from a very high and exalted place.

See what is explained on this elsewhere, in the maamar beginning “And the Jews undertook.” In the same way it is explained here that because of the source from which the soul was hewn, from the level of sovev kol almin, it follows from this that in the heart of every person there is the level of ratzo, etc.

in the inner dimension of the heart. As is known, the inner dimension of the heart corresponds to the inner altar, which is the golden altar; and the quality of gold is love like “flashes of fire,” a fierce flame that rises upward until it comes to the expiry of the soul.

This is [the meaning of] “For with You I run upon a troop, and with my G‑d I leap over a wall,” etc.; and as explained above on the matter of “The rock of my heart and my portion is G‑d forever.” See what is explained in the maamar beginning “The golden scepter,” and in the maamar beginning “His left hand is under my head,”

on the matter of “as the advantage of gold over silver,” and in the maamar beginning “Your cheeks are comely with rows.” It is called “the hidden things of the heart” because it is hidden and concealed within the heart and does not come to the point of revelation in comprehension through reason and knowledge (daas),

but is above knowledge, because its root is very exalted, from a high and exalted place, above reason and knowledge and the comprehension of created beings. This is the level of “before” (kedem), which is taken from the level of

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,” etc., and the level of “He made darkness His hiding place.” Of this it is said, “He who dwells in the hiding place of the Most High abides in the shadow of the Almighty,” and it is written, “G‑d is your shade” — which is the level of shade and not a revelation of light, etc.,

as is explained elsewhere. [See what is explained in the maamar beginning “I am black but comely,” on “black fire”; and see the Raaya Mehemna, Parshas Pinchas, folio 255b, mentioned above.] This level endures forever: it is certainly present, hidden, in the heart of every single Jew, so that he can arouse the love at the time of prayer and the like.

But afterwards it can pass away and vanish, etc., because it is clothed and hidden in the outer dimension of the heart, the level of “behind.”

2Nevertheless, an impression (reshimu) of it is discernible and remains present in concealment, as an encompassing [light] (makif) alone, to be a shelter and a cover, so that one can “turn from evil and do good” all day long, even when the inner point of his heart is not with him in revelation, [as] flashes of fire, as at the time of prayer.

Therefore it is called the level of “shade”: just as shade protects, to be a shelter and a cover from the heat of the sun and from storm and rain,

so too this love, which comes from the inner point of the heart, although it is hidden and concealed and does not come to the point of

revelation all day long, after prayer and the like, nevertheless it is as an encompassing [light] over the outer dimension of the heart, the level of “behind,” so that one should not fall behind altogether into an evil love, G‑d forbid.

This is because this love is certainly hidden in the inner point of the heart and endures forever, never to be moved, forever and ever, since it is in the very nature of creation from the six days of creation, as said above.

However, the essence of a person’s service, for it to be called by the name “the service of a servant” — and the essence of service is in the heart, as it is written, “and to serve Him with all your heart” — is this: to bring the love out of the state of concealment into the state of revelation in the heart, and to draw the level of darkness,

that is, the level of “He made darkness His hiding place” mentioned above, so that it be in a state of light and revelation, as it is written, “Though I sit in darkness, Havayah is a light to me.”

3This is the matter of the utterance “And G‑d said, ‘Let there be light,’” for “the earth was darkness,” etc. For this there must be wholehearted service; and “there is nothing new under the sun”

except to bring out from concealment into revelation. For this a set measure was given to the days of man — “the days of his years, in them, are seventy years” — in order to toil in this service. And the verse explained the matter of the seventy years: “the days of our years, in them” — “in them” specifically,

for they are the level of the public domain; and in order that there be the level of the private domain for His unity, may He be blessed, much service and toil are needed, [through] many levels and stages, until the level of seventy years is completed, etc.,

as is explained elsewhere. (See what is explained on this in the maamar beginning “If you walk in My statutes.” Now, in order to draw down a revelation from the level of “He made darkness His hiding place” to come into a state of light and revelation, this is through an arousal from below, by turning darkness into light, as is explained at the end of the maamar beginning “Know this day.” And this is what is said in Zohar II, Beshalach)

(folio 57a): that by breaking through all those walls of darkness — that is, the darkness of the animal soul and the body — one thereby draws down the revelation from the level of “He made darkness His hiding place.” And this is the meaning of “to see My face.”

In the same way it is explained elsewhere, on the statement of Zohar III, Parshas Pinchas (folio 249, the beginning of side b), regarding “and she entered into the mountain of darkness,” etc.:

that through the raising of mayin nukvin (feminine waters) from the refinement of kelipas nogah, which is called “the mountain of darkness,” one draws down from the level of “He made darkness His hiding place,” which is also called “the mountain of darkness” — that which is far, far higher than the mountains of light; as is explained on this in the explanation of “A candelabrum all of gold.”

From all this will be understood what is said in the Sifra deTzniusa (folio 176, the end of side b): “And the chayos ran and returned,” as it is written, “And G‑d saw the light, that it was good.” This means: through the ratzo one draws down from the level of “He made darkness His hiding place” so that it be in a state of light and revelation, as said above.

But “that it was good” means “that it is good to hide it away”; and this is the level of shov, which is to hide away the light in vessels, from the various vessels of Torah and mitzvos, for specifically through this the light endures, whereas light without a vessel [does not].

This is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “‘Keep’ — this is Mishnah.” And see Zohar III, Parshas Balak (folio 204), on “In the morning I will set [my prayer] before You and will watch,” as it says, “and he overlaid it,” etc.; see there. And this is the level of the light, “that it is good to hide it away.”

42. Now, the order of service must be, first, Rosh HaShanah, of which [it is said], “This day is the beginning of Your works, a remembrance of the first day.”

The level of Rosh HaShanah is the level of “His left hand is under my head,” the level of “the left hand pushes away,” etc. [As explained above in the maamar beginning “You shall draw water with joy,” and in the maamar beginning “Give ear, O heavens.”]

So too, the order of a person’s service is at first in the mode of “the left hand pushes away,” etc., in the mode of distance: that is, he should picture himself as though he were far from G‑d.

5As our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Be in your own eyes like a wicked person” [see Sefer Shel Beinonim, chapter 13]; and in this way all the confessions and selichos were instituted before Rosh HaShanah

and in the Ten Days of Teshuvah: to see in himself all his shortcomings, so as to be lowly in his own eyes, with a heart broken and crushed over how very far he is from G‑d. And especially when one is among “the masters of accounting,” who reckon all the words and thoughts, etc.,

then his heart will be broken within him and he will be humbled before the Omnipresent. And this level of “the left hand pushes away” is to be “under my head,” the level of the head, as explained elsewhere in the maamar beginning “His left hand is under my head,” in Parshas Ki Sisa.

Until on Yom Kippur, “before Havayah you shall be purified”: “before Havayah” is the level of “face to face,” through the power of teshuvah from the depths of the heart, as it is written, “Out of the depths I have called You, Havayah.”

6And it is written, “Seek My face; Your face, Havayah, I will seek”: the level of the inner dimension of the heart, that is, that his aim be toward G‑d and His Torah with all his heart and soul, and that his involvement in the affairs of this world be in a manner of coolness, etc.

For the place in which a person’s heart is fixed with all his heart and soul is called the level of “face.” And this is the meaning of “face to face”: that the whole inner dimension of his heart and soul be directed only to the inner dimension of His will, may He be blessed.

Of the opposite, however, it is said, “For they have turned the back of the neck to Me”: they turn to G‑d and to His mitzvos with coolness, while their inwardness, in heart and soul, is directed to the level of “the back,”

which are physical matters, etc., that are far from the light of His face, may He be blessed. And since, with regard to G‑d, may He be blessed, it is not applicable to speak in terms of distance in space —

for is it not [written], “The whole earth is full of His glory”? — it is said in terms of “the back of the neck,” which is, by way of analogy, like a person standing right next to his fellow, but with the back of his neck turned toward him;

for this is the utmost distance. [As explained on this above in the maamar beginning “Return, O Israel.”] And on Yom Kippur, “from all your sins, before Havayah you shall be purified,” because then the levels of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are revealed.

7Therefore it is written, “If your sins be like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; if they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” [See what is explained on this in the maamar beginning “Give ear, O heavens.”]

For snow and wool are the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, after the verse, “His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like clean wool.” Therefore all Israel are raised up to be face to face, at the level of the inner dimension of the point of the heart.

Therefore Yom Kippur has neither eating nor drinking. For throughout the year a person is nourished by physical eating and drinking, from which blood is made, which is the nefesh — the outer dimension of the heart.

On Yom Kippur, however, the level of the inner dimension of the heart is revealed, which is not nourished by physical eating and drinking. [See Pri Etz Chaim, Shaar Yom HaKippurim (chapter 1 and the beginning of chapter 3);

and see the commentary of the Ramaz on the Zohar, Parshas Pinchas (folio 241b), regarding “In the World to Come there is no eating and drinking” — yet it is written, “I have eaten my honeycomb,” etc.; see there. And this is

because the inner dimension of the heart is taken from the level of “before You formed me,” before the work of creation; this level does not receive from the inanimate, vegetative, animal and speaking, as does the level of “behind” in the work of creation, which receives from the refinements, etc.; rather, “by everything that comes forth,” etc.]

83. Through this level of higher teshuvah, which is from the depths of the heart, there is revealed on Sukkos the level of “and His right hand embraces me”: the supernal right, which is the level of “great love” that is above reason and knowledge, is revealed below in the revelation of the heart, so that one should not be in a state of separateness, G‑d forbid, from Him, may He be blessed.

This is “embraces me,” like the analogy of one who embraces his fellow so that he will not go away from him. This comes through the sukkah, the level of “shade,” which is the level of “G‑d is your shade,” etc. (See what is explained in the maamar beginning “Give ear, O heavens,” on the meaning of “And there shall be a sukkah for shade by day,” etc.)

And through the waving of the lulav: for the four kinds in the lulav allude to the Name Havayah, and one waves them and brings them to the heart, for every bringing-in is to the heart, so that [the Name] may shine and be revealed in a person’s heart.

This is why one waves in six directions, up and down and to the four directions, for He, may He be blessed, is One in the heavens and on earth and in the four directions; and because He is the place of the world, as it is written, “Behold, there is a place with Me,” etc., as explained elsewhere.

And one must draw down and bring the level of “One” into the heart, so that the One G‑d rests and is revealed in it, and “to be one with the One,” etc.

(See what is explained on this in the maamar beginning “On the eighth day, an assembly,” in the first discourse.) Now, of this it is said, “He casts forth His ice like morsels.” For

first it is said, “He gives snow like wool,” etc., which is the level of the revelation of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, “His garment white as snow,” etc., which are revealed on Yom Kippur.

Through this there is drawn and revealed on Sukkos the level of “and His right hand embraces me,” and from this is drawn the level of “He casts forth His ice like morsels.” For this level of great love and supernal Chesed, which is likened to water, congeals and becomes ice.

That is to say, it became corporealized and descended through the concealment of the levels, from “the head of all levels,” a place that “no thought can grasp,” to clothe itself so as to be grasped in the comprehension of human beings, “each one according to his own measure.”

This is “He casts forth”: in the manner of being cast from level to level; “like morsels”: the level of separation and division into myriads of levels, so that the level of “One” may be drawn down below as well, “that all the peoples of the earth may know,” etc.

(This is like what is written, “And over the heads of the chayah there was the likeness of a firmament, like the color of the awesome ice.” And it is explained elsewhere in the name of the holy Rav, Rabbi Avraham, son of the Rav the Maggid, of blessed memory, that kerach (ice) has the letters of chirik, and chirik is the level of Netzach, the branch of Chochmah.

From this is drawn the parsa (partition) that divides between Atzilus and Beriah, which is the level of the firmament over the heads of the chayos, “like the color of the ice,” etc.

The reason it is called by the name “ice” is that the matter of the parsa is, by way of analogy, like a teacher who wants to explain a great concept to his student, which the student cannot receive, so he must convey it by way of parable and riddle, like the Proverbs of Solomon, etc.

In the same way, in order that there be drawn from the level of supernal Chochmah — “He is wise, but not with a known wisdom” — to the level of Chochmah, Binah and Daas of the World of Beriah, since created beings have no capacity to receive the radiance of Chochmah as it is in Atzilus,

therefore the level of a parsa is made, through which Chochmah is drawn into created beings, as, by way of analogy, the concept that the student grasps through the garment of the parable; and like the matter of “And he spoke three thousand parables,” etc. And as explained on this in the maamar beginning “Eliyahu opened,” in Parshas Vayeira, and in the maamar beginning “And the curtain shall divide.”

This is why it is called “a firmament like the color of ice.” Just as, by way of analogy, ice is itself water, only it has congealed and become ice, so it is with the clothing of a concept in a parable: the very concept itself is clothed in it, only it is clothed in a physical parable, and this is

like the physicality of ice relative to water. This is the matter of “a firmament like the color of ice” over the heads of the chayos of the Chariot: through it comprehension is drawn to them from above, that is, through its first being drawn specifically in the form of ice.

Through this the level of self-nullification (bittul) is also drawn into them. This is the matter of kerach having the letters of chirik, which is the level of bittul. See what is explained on this at the end of the maamar beginning “And all the people saw the sounds.”

Now, it is explained shortly below that the level of ice is the level of shov that follows the ratzo. And the matter of this level’s resemblance to ice is

that the level of shov is to make for Him, may He be blessed, a dwelling place among the lower realms through the performance of the mitzvos and the study of Torah, which is equal to them all. For the mitzvos are called “the 248 limbs of the King”: just as, by way of analogy, the life-force of the soul is clothed in the limbs, so the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, is clothed in the performance of the mitzvos.

That is: in tefillin there is drawn and clothed the level of the four mochin, which are the levels of Chochmah and Binah, Chesed and Gevurah of the Holy One, blessed be He, etc.; and in tzedakah and acts of kindness there is drawn and clothed the level of Chesed, “the right arm,” etc. And as explained on this in the maamar beginning “Moshe would speak.”

Now, this clothing of the supernal mochin in the physical performance of the mitzvos is likened to the level of ice, which is, by way of analogy, the clothing of a concept in a physical parable, as said above; and so it is with the clothing of the supernal lights in the performance of the mitzvos in physicality.

Likewise, in the service of G‑d, the awe and love of prayer clothe themselves in the performance of the mitzvos; and in general, love is the root of the 248 positive commandments and awe is the root of the 365 prohibitions. This too is the level of “He casts forth His ice,” etc.

See what is explained on the verse “And Avraham was old, advanced in days,” in Parshas Chayei Sarah, on the matter of “And Moshe came into the midst of the cloud,” etc.: so too Torah and mitzvos, etc.; see there. And the matter of “like morsels” may be explained: this crumbling and division is drawn through the five Gevuros, and this is the matter of the seal. See what is explained in Parshas Re’eh, in the maamar beginning “And He will bless you,” etc.; see there.)

However, it is written, “Before His cold, who can stand?” For the drawing down of this revelation below, in the level of “His cold,” is a level of coolness, so that from it is drawn the level of shov, the opposite of the level of ratzo,

which is the level of flashes of fire, a flame that rises of itself. And not every person merits to stand in the level of “return to the One,” so that even in the state of shov he remains cleaving to G‑d, etc.

Although the level of embrace, “and His right hand embraces me,” is drawn from above, it is like the analogy of one who embraces his fellow from behind: that is, the love is drawn also to the level of the “back parts,” in the manner of “not like Avraham, from whom Yishmael came forth,” etc.

And also, on Sukkos they would offer seventy bulls for the seventy nations, to draw down influence to them, as is written in the Midrash on Song of Songs on the verse “Behold, you are fair, my beloved.”

Now, in the state of shov, when one moves away from the ratzo, there can be a complete falling into the level of the “back parts.” (Of this it is said, “And Avraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey”: that is, every morning supernal Chesed is aroused to overcome the level of the “donkey,” etc.,

which is the matter of “the donkey — even in the season of Tammuz it feels cold”: that is, when a person is not stirred by the greatness of G‑d. In the same vein it is said, “who chilled you on the way,” etc. And the level of the light of Avraham’s love is “and he saddled his donkey,” etc. And see Zohar I, Vayishlach)

(folio 166b); and see Zohar II, Terumah (folio 166b), how the waste is sifted out from the level of ice, and these are the level of “bad waters,”

which is the matter of physical pleasures. Therefore one must again arouse the love like flashes of fire, the level of ratzo, to enlarge the blaze of the fire of love.

This is “He sends forth His word and melts them,” in the manner of what is said in Zohar I, Bereishis (folio 29b): “The strength of the north congeals the waters, and the strength of the south releases the waters”;

that is, through the intensified heat of the sun the ice melts and becomes water; and so, through the intensified flashes of the fire of love, the level of ratzo, supernal Chesed is drawn down, and it is transformed from the level of ice to the level of water.

This is the matter of “the might of the rains,” which descend with might, through the level of Gevurah, the level of flashes of fire. (And according to what was explained above, that the level of ice is the level of the parsa that divides, the transformation from the level of ice to the level of water means that the revelation below, in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, be

as it is above. And the matter of this level on Shemini Atzeres is as explained above on the meaning of “This was from Havayah”: that the level of supernal Chochmah, which shines in a mode of distance, now comes to be in a mode of nearness, etc.; see there.)

And these waters are drawn and flow down through “He causes His wind to blow”: this is the level of the holy spirit, a spirit drawn from the supernal “holy,” which is the level of supernal Chochmah (see Zohar, Chukas, folio 183b).

And then “the waters flow,” which is the level of Torah, so that there be “He tells His words to Yaakov, His statutes and His ordinances to Israel,” which are all the Mishnayos and halachos in the Oral Torah that were drawn from the level of supernal Chochmah, the level of the Written Torah; [for] “the Torah comes forth from Chochmah,” etc.

And this is the matter of Shemini Atzeres. (That is: on Yom Kippur it is the level of “He gives snow like wool,” so that “if your sins be like scarlet, they shall be white as snow,” etc.

And afterwards, “He scatters frost like ashes; He casts forth His ice”: this is the drawing down of supernal Chesed on Sukkos, which congeals and becomes frost and ice, as it is written of the manna, “fine as frost”; and the manna is from the level of “the crystal dew,” which is also the root of the level of Sukkos, as explained above at the end of the maamar beginning “Give ear, O heavens.”

And afterwards, “He sends forth His word and melts them; He causes His wind to blow, the waters flow”: this is the level of Shemini Atzeres, which is the matter of “He causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall,” as said above.)

94. And this is [the meaning of] “On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king.” For there is no king without a people, and it does not apply before Him, may He be blessed, that His Name be called “King,”

for over whom is He king? After all, He brings everything into being, and “He was, He is and He will be” equally, “in the heavens above and on the earth below — there is none else.” Rather, through our service we draw His kingship upon ourselves,

as in the saying, “Recite before Me [verses of] Kingship, so that you make Me King over you,” as explained elsewhere. And see what is explained on this in the maamar beginning “You are standing,” regarding “in order to establish you today as a people to Him,” etc.; see there.

Now, the drawing down of the level of His kingship is not in the mode of ratzo, which is for one’s soul to pour itself out, etc.; rather, it is the level of shov, as it is written, “You shall surely set a king over you,” etc., and as explained elsewhere.

This is “he sent the people away”: to be in the state of shov, so as to be the level of “a people.” (For further explanation of the matter of “sent”: it is as it is written, “He sends forth springs into the streams,” etc., “they give drink to every beast of the field” — which is the level of the drawing down from the level of supernal Chochmah,

which is the level of a spring flowing from the source of living waters; it is the level of “the most hidden of all hidden,” from which is drawn “they give drink to every beast of the field, the wild asses quench their thirst” — which is the level and rank of shov that follows the thirst and the ratzo. And see what is said on this verse in the Zohar, Parshas Chukas)

(folio 181a). And see what is explained above on the verse “You shall draw water,” etc., “from the wellsprings of salvation.” And the meaning of “into the streams” may also be explained along the lines of what is explained at the end of the maamar beginning

“To understand the meaning of the verse ‘Who is a G‑d like You,’” regarding “for the remnant of His inheritance” — “a stream has passed over our soul” — which is the level of the drawing down to the souls of Israel, etc.; see there. And as it is written, “How goodly are your tents, O Yaakov,” etc.,

“like streams stretched out,” etc. And see the Zohar, Vayikra (folio 16, the end of side a), regarding “like cedars beside the waters.” And this too is what is said, “and sends waters upon the open places.”

Further, the matter of “sent” will be understood along the lines of what is explained elsewhere, in the maamar beginning “And it was when Pharaoh sent the people”: that through their exile in Egypt they brought about the elevation of the sparks of G‑dliness that had fallen there in the shattering of the vessels;

and this is the very level of the power of growth, to make the salvations of Israel sprout, as it is written, “And Pharaoh drew near,” and our Sages said that he drew Israel near to their Father in heaven. Of this it is said, “when Pharaoh sent the people”: that he was sending forth boughs and branches and making fruit above — “the people,” etc. See there at length.

10And it is explained elsewhere that in this growth, which is the performance of the mitzvos, the level of “He makes salvations sprout,” there are two aspects: elevation and drawing down.

That is: the elevation of the sparks of G‑dliness from the shattering of the vessels through the refinement of kelipas nogah — namely, the wool of tzitzis and the parchment of tefillin — and this is called the raising of mayin nukvin (feminine waters).

The second is that through this a revelation of the Infinite Light is drawn from above to below, from the level of the 620 pillars of light; and this is the matter of “the royal garment” and “the royal crown” in the verse “Let them bring the royal garment,” as explained elsewhere.

11Now, of the level of the refinement of the sparks from the shattering of the vessels it is said, “when Pharaoh sent the people,” as said above. But of the drawing down from above to below, from the level of “the royal crown,” it is said, “On the eighth day he sent the people away,” etc.

This is why it is specifically “on the eighth day” that “he sent the people away”: for the power for this drawing down, from the highest heights also to the lowest depths, is drawn from a supernal place, as is known from the matter of “Who is enthroned on high, who looks down low,” etc.

That is, from the level of “on the eighth day,” which is the level that is above the seven supernal attributes; and along the lines of what is said in the Zohar, Parshas Vayechi (folio 246b), on the verse “Naftali is a hind let loose,” etc.:

“And that voice is sent forth from the deep place above,” etc., which is the level of Binah, for in Binah there is the revelation of Atik; and this too is the matter of “On the eighth day he sent,” etc.

Elsewhere it is explained that the level of “on the eighth day” is the level of the eighth king, Hadar, who is the one who rectifies, [bringing] from the level of Tohu to become the level of Tikkun, etc.

And see what is explained on the verse “For the conductor, on the Sheminis,” regarding circumcision, which was given specifically on the eighth [day]. All this is a very high place, from which this level of sending, “he sent the people away,” is drawn;

that is, after the level of “in order to establish you today as a people to Him,” which on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur was in the mode of ratzo, this level will be drawn down also in the mode of “return to the One”; and this is specifically “on the eighth day.”

12Now, although ratzo is a very high level, nevertheless the purpose of creation is that He have a dwelling place among the lower realms, that the revelation be below; and this is the level of shov.

See what is explained in the maamar beginning “Return, O Israel, unto,” on the meaning of the verse “For with You is forgiveness, that You may be feared”; and what is explained elsewhere on the statement of Zohar III, Emor (folio 100b), on the matter of “she is the daughter of my father,”

“but not the daughter of my mother.” For Yom Kippur is from the level of “Let the mother come and wipe away,” etc., while on Shemini Atzeres Knesses Yisrael is called “the daughter of my father,” etc.

And see what is explained above on the matter of “on the eighth day,” regarding “This was from Havayah; it is wondrous in our eyes”; and see what is explained elsewhere on the matter of “the eighth [day] of the inauguration.”

Now, (in Divrei HaYamim II, chapter 7) it is written, “And on the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away.” This may be explained as an allusion to the second festival day of the Diaspora; and see what is explained below on the matter of the second festival day of the Diaspora. And then, “they blessed the king”: to draw down the level of His kingship, may He be blessed.

That is, through the study of Torah, with the cleaving of spirit to spirit, the level of “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth,” etc.; and then, “I have put My words in your mouth,” etc.; “the Mishnah is the queen,” etc., as explained elsewhere.

And our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Do not read ‘your children’ but ‘your builders,’” for they are occupied with the building of the world (see what is explained on this in the maamar beginning “And all your children shall be taught”). The meaning of “the building of the world” is the level of His kingship, may He be blessed,

for it is written, “Your kingship is the kingship of all worlds,” and “we call it the Oral Torah,” for it is built from the Written Torah: from a single letter of the Written Torah an entire chapter of the Oral Torah is drawn;

as, for example, from the letter vav of “And if [a person] borrows” — [since] a vav adds to the preceding subject — the chapter HaSho’el was made. For through the Oral Torah there is the revelation of His kingship, may He be blessed, in a state of revelation.

And this is “and they blessed the king”: the level of blessing and drawing down in great revelation. And this is what we request: “Reveal the glory of Your kingship”

(see what is explained elsewhere on the matter of “The life of Sarah was a hundred years,” which are the hundred blessings, etc.; and what is explained in the maamar beginning “Give ear, O heavens,” on the matter of “And the ofanim,” etc., who say, “Blessed be the glory of G‑d from its place”;

and at the end of the maamar beginning “See, I set before you this day a blessing”; and in the maamar beginning “I am Havayah your G‑d who brought you out of the land of Egypt,” on the matter of “May His great Name be blessed”; and in the maamar beginning “And now, let the power of Ado-nai be great”)

“and appear in the splendor of the majesty of Your might.” “Appear” is an expression of shining forth and radiance in revelation, as it is written, “He appeared from Mount Paran, and shone forth from Seir,” etc.

And this is “and they went to their tents”: they drew down the level of His kingship, may He be blessed, to make for Him a tent and a tabernacle and a dwelling place among the lower realms, the level of vessels, etc.

(See what is explained on the matter of “tent” in the maamar beginning “In the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting,” and on the verse “How goodly are your tents, O Yaakov,” etc.) And through this they become “joyful and glad of heart.”

This means: “joyful” in the level of love that is above reason and knowledge, as it is written, “Then (az) shall [the maiden] rejoice” — in the level of az, which is the level of “before” (kedem).

(See what is explained in the maamar beginning “See, I [set],” mentioned above, regarding the meaning of “of Eisan the Ezrachite”; and see Midrash Rabbah, Beshalach) (the beginning of chapter 23), on the verse “Your throne is established from then”; and Zohar II (Beshalach, folio 54b),

on the verse “Then (az) [Moshe] sang.” And “glad of heart”: that this love, which is from the level of the inner point of the heart, be in revelation, in the level of light and not in the level of darkness, as it is written, “And G‑d saw the light,

that it was good.” (And see the Midrash Ruth Rabbah on the verse “and his heart was merry”; and see what is explained in the maamar beginning “The matter of Chanukah,” on the matter of “when he trims the lamps.”)

“For all the goodness that G‑d had done for David His servant” — that is, the level of His kingship, may He be blessed — “and for Israel His people,” who are “your children,” “your builders,” etc.,

as said above. And one who reflects on this order of service will see that there is in it distance and nearness, and distance: for one must always arouse the level of ratzo, and it is not enough to be in the level of shov alone; and yet in the level of ratzo, too, it is impossible to remain, as said above.

13This matter is found in the order of prayer, in all the blessings: “Blessed” is in the third person, as though one were speaking with someone who is not before him

but far away; and “are You” is the level of revelation, in the second person. “Havayah our G‑d” is also in the third person; “King of the world” is the revelation of His kingship, may He be blessed.

Likewise, in this manner, throughout the order of prayer there is, within a single verse, both third person and second person, which are the levels of distance and nearness.

(See Midrash Shemos Rabbah, section 1, on the verse “And his sister stood from afar”; see there: “From afar G‑d appeared to me.” And see what is explained at the end of the maamar beginning “You are standing,” on the matter of “and weighed with a balance,” which is also the level of distance, etc.; and what is explained at the end of the maamar beginning “Know this day,” on the matter of “Peace, peace, to the far and to the near.”)

And this is what is written in the holy Zohar and [in the teachings of] the Arizal, of blessed memory: that Knesses Yisrael and the Holy One, blessed be He, are at times in a state of face to face, at times in a state of back to back, and at times Knesses Yisrael descends to Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, etc.

14Summary of [the maamar on] “On the eighth day he sent”

15(1) “In the dance”: an expression of forgiveness of sin, and an expression of dancing. In dancing there is distance and nearness, and this is the level of ratzo and shov.

“Behind and before You have formed me.” “Before”: the level of “With whom did He take counsel”; sovev kol almin. From this the ratzo in the right chamber is drawn, “the hidden thing of the heart,” which is drawn from the level of “He made darkness His hiding place.”

(“I am black”: black fire.) “In the shadow of the Almighty he abides”: the level of makif. And the service is to be “Let there be light” (that is, through the transformation of the darkness of the animal soul).

Elsewhere it is explained that the ratzo is [the Name] Mah and the shov is [the Name] Ban; and what is said, that its root is from the level of “before,” means Adam Kadmon, Adam of Mah, “which is the path of Atzilus.”

16(2) Now, the order of service must be, first, Rosh HaShanah, “the left hand pushes away,” in the mode of distance; and through this, “His left hand is under my head,” until on Yom Kippur, “before Havayah you shall be purified,” the level of face to face. (And this is the distance and nearness in the dance; and then it is also machol in the sense of forgiveness of sin.)

And through this, “If your sins be like scarlet, they shall be white as snow,” etc. “His garment white as snow.” And it has no eating or drinking.

17(3) From this there is drawn on Sukkos “and His right hand embraces me”: great love. “G‑d is your shade”; and the four kinds in the lulav, to draw the Name Havayah into the heart.

And this is “He gives snow like wool,” the level of Yom Kippur; and afterwards “He casts forth His ice,” that is, the level of great love mentioned above, which congealed and became ice.

(And it is like the matter of “a firmament like the color of ice.”) Parsa; curtain; three thousand parables. And likewise the level of shov, the clothing in the performance of the mitzvos; and this is “For I desire kindness, and not sacrifice.”

(And see what is explained at the end of the maamar beginning “For you shall hearken,” on the matter of “for in these I delight”; and what is explained in the maamar in the section on libations.) But “before His cold, who can stand?”

Therefore there must be “He sends forth His word and melts them”; and this is the matter of Shemini Atzeres. (And these two levels, of ice and of “the waters flow,” are also distance and nearness.) (4) And in this level, “he sent the people away,”

for there is no king without a people. (“He sends forth springs.” And see what is explained on “when Pharaoh sent.” That is: that even in the shov there be ratzo included is drawn from “on the eighth day.” And the shov, [the Name] Ban, is refined and ascends into [the Name] Sag, which is higher than Mah.)

“And they blessed” (in the manner of “Blessed be the glory of G‑d from its place”; also in the manner of “In the multitude of people is the King’s splendor”: the level of the splendor of His kingship is drawn from the level of “the multitude of people,” and this is “he sent the people away and they blessed,” etc. And see what is explained in the maamar beginning “These are the journeys,” on the matter of “Let not the blessing of a commoner [be light in your eyes]”).

“Your builders.” “Joyful,” in the manner of “Then (az) shall she rejoice,” the level of “before” (see Zohar II, Beshalach, folio 54a, on “Then [Moshe] sang”). And this is: the seven days of Sukkos are the zayin (seven) of az, and the alef (one) is Shemini Atzeres, Atik, which is revealed in Binah.

And this is “Then (az) shall she rejoice.” And this is “And Yaakov went out from Be’er Sheva,” which is Binah; from there he sent [himself] toward Charan, to become song (rinah). And this is the eight days of Chanukah: az — into the seven the alef is drawn.

And this is “And Yaakov went out from Be’er Sheva”: Binah, which is the well (be’er) and source for the seven (sheva) attributes, in the manner of az; from there is drawn “and he went toward Charan,” to refine the refinements, the level of “he sent the people away.” In the same way the matter of the eight days of Chanukah, az, will be understood: that the miracle was that they lit for eight days.