טוב לחסות בה׳ וגו׳

1“It is better to take refuge in G‑d, etc.” Now, in the prayer of Shabbos and Yom Tov we say “Sanctify us with Your mitzvos” first, and afterwards “and grant us our share in Your Torah.”

For it is impossible to have a share in the Torah of G‑d unless one fulfills His mitzvos; [hence] “Sanctify us with Your mitzvos” [comes] first. The explanation of the matter: the theme of “grant us our share in Your Torah” is as it is written, “On the eighth day there shall be an atzeres for you.”

The meaning of atzeres is retention: the Community of Israel (Knesses Yisrael) retains the drop of Chochmah, that is, the Torah, which descended from His will and His wisdom, may He be blessed, except that it became physical (nisgashmah), as it is written, “He causes the rain (geshem) to descend.” And when every Jew studies the Torah, reviews his learning and holds it well in his memory, this level is called the level of “retaining.”

So too with prayer, which is through Daas and binding [oneself] in one’s mind and heart, so that it be fixed firmly in his thought, in a felt way; as in what our Sages said, “Recognize your Creator”: that it be grasped within his mind and also within his heart, so that he have “the desire of the heart,” from the depth of the heart, for G‑d alone.

Now, by way of analogy: when a man takes a wife, he must first betroth her, giving her one perutah or the value of a perutah,

only that it be something with which she can buy herself the sustenance of her life. So too, it is impossible for the Community of Israel to be in the state of “retaining” unless He draws down to her G‑dly life-force from above.

(See also what is written at the end of the section beginning “And I will betroth you to Me, etc.… and you shall know.”) And the concept of kiddushin (betrothal) is as it is written, “And you shall be holy, etc.… and I have separated you to Me, etc.,

to be Mine, etc.” And this is the meaning of “Behold, you are betrothed (mekudeshes) to me”: that you shall be set apart and separated for me, for my name.

And this is the intention of all the mitzvos, for “mitzvos require intention”: that is, to know what is intended by them; and what is intended is to be separated from the cravings and from all bad traits.

2Therefore our Sages instituted the saying of “Who has sanctified us with His mitzvos” in the blessings over the mitzvos; and through this one can have the above-mentioned “retention” in Torah and prayer. Without the above-mentioned level of kiddushin, however, it is impossible for him to have the above-mentioned “retention,” and he is called “one who expels,” G‑d forbid.

Now, the drawing down of the above-mentioned kiddushin is from above, from the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), the level of the ring of kiddushin, where everything is equal before Him: “was,”

“is” and “will be” in one instant, and there is no change in Him whatsoever, G‑d forbid. As it is written, “Great is G‑d and exceedingly praised, and His greatness is unsearchable”: that is, the greatness of G‑d is “exceedingly” [great], without measure or interruption,

as our Sages said, “From the earth to the firmament, etc.… the feet of the Chayos are equal to all of them, etc.” But “and His greatness is unsearchable” means: to His greatness itself, the term “greatness” does not apply.

And this is what our Sages said, “Wherever you find the greatness of the Holy One, blessed be He, there you find His humility”: for with Him, may He be blessed, greatness is reckoned as humility,

because the term “greatness” applies to the spreading forth of His light in the manner of the infinite and the endless, etc., and not to the Source of the light and the Life of all life, who [would thereby] be made great over something that is truly as nothing and naught.

3And this is what is written, “Yours, Havayah, is the greatness”: that is, the attribute of greatness is only Havayah, which came into being from You, namely through contraction, spreading forth and drawing down, which the letters of the Name Havayah indicate: the yud, contraction, etc.

And through this contemplation a person also comes to have a broken and crushed heart, so that all the matters of the world that fall under time, past, present and future, and are transient, will be equal in his eyes; he will not crave them and will not set his heart to them at all,

for he will say to his heart: “Behold, several years ago it did not occur to me at all to think and ponder about this matter, and after several years the thing will not exist and will not come [to mind] at all.”

4Therefore now too it will seem in his eyes as if it were before this time and after it. And this is [the meaning of] “Who is wise? One who sees what will be born”: who sees, in a manner of

actual seeing, what will be born afterwards: that the evil thing will not exist, as it is written, “And I will remove the spirit of impurity from the land, etc.”; and also that the end of every thing is worms and maggots, transient and perishing.

5And this is [the meaning of] “You crumbled the sea with Your might.” That is: several levels are called “sea,” namely “the depths of the sea,” as it is written, “And You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea”; and You crumble and scatter them with Your might,

that is, through the above-mentioned contemplation, [the thing] has no standing at all to be reckoned as a “something” (yesh), but he will crumble it through a broken and crushed heart. And this is the mnemonic of Shemini Atzeres: PaZeR KaSheV.

That is: first “scatter” (pazer), in the manner of the above-mentioned crumbling, and afterwards “hearken (kashev) to His words.” For when one lacks the above-mentioned scattering and crumbling, our Sages said, “I and he cannot dwell in one world”: that is, when he takes up place in the world.

6Now it is written, “And all wickedness will be entirely consumed like smoke”: that it can easily be driven away, like smoke, which the wind comes and uproots even when it blows

only a little, as it is written, “Come from the four winds, and breathe into these slain, that they may live”; because in truth they have no substance at all, provided only that he sets his heart to the above-mentioned contemplation.

7And this is [the meaning of] “It is better to take refuge in G‑d than to trust in man; it is better to take refuge in G‑d than to trust in nobles.” The Zohar explains that the intent is not to the physical man and physical nobles, for if so, it would not say “It is better to take refuge in G‑d, etc.,”

which implies that to trust in man and in nobles is also good, only that it is better to take refuge in G‑d; yet it is written, “Cursed is the man who trusts in man,” and it is written, “Do not trust in nobles, etc.”

Rather, the intent is to the Supernal Man. This is what is written, “And upon the likeness of the throne, a likeness like the appearance of a man”; and this is the level of the Written Torah, which has 248 positive commandments and 365 prohibitions, “like the appearance of a man,” who has 248 limbs and 365 sinews.

(As is explained about this in the section beginning “And He fed you the manna,” in Parshas Eikev.) And certainly it is good and fine to cleave to His Torah, may He be blessed; but better than this is to take refuge in G‑d.

“To take refuge” (lachasos) is from the term “shelter” (machseh) and “cover.” It is like, by way of analogy, the covering of the chuppah: in our countries they betroth under a canopy, and in several places they spread a tallis over the groom and bride.

And our Sages said, “Once he has spread his tallis over her, he can no longer betray her.” So too, of Him, may He be blessed, it is written, “He wraps Himself in light as in a garment.”

And He spreads His tallis, the wrap of His garment, from the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), “to revive the heart of the crushed.” (And see what is written in Iggeres HaKodesh on this verse, “He wraps Himself in light”; and see what is written in the explanation on the verse

“For on this day He shall atone,” regarding “His garment is white as snow,” which refers to the Torah, which is the level of the supernal Chashmal, above Atzilus, etc. And see further on the theme of “He wraps Himself in light” in Shemos Rabbah) (chapter 15 and the beginning of chapter 17), Terumah (chapter 33),

Vayakhel (chapter 50), Emor (chapter 31); and in Zohar, volume III (245b, 59b; volume I, 31b at the end, 90a, 142b; volume II, 39b, 98a at the end, 164b, 209a).

And in the book Emek HaMelech, Gate of the World of Beriah, chapter 3, he explains “He wraps Himself in light as in a garment” as the World of the Garment, etc.; that is, the letters of the Torah, which are the level of His garment, may He be blessed.

And see what is written above, at the end of the section beginning “On the day of Shemini Atzeres,” and in the explanation on the verse “You shall keep My Shabbosos.” And the matter of “nobles” is what is written, “to seat me with nobles”: for all the sparks of the souls of Israel are elevated on Yom Tov.

“To seat me with nobles”: these are the Patriarchs, who are themselves the Chariot, as it is written, “The nobles of the peoples are gathered, the people of the G‑d of Abraham.”

(And see what is written on the verse “which the nobles of the people dug,” and in Parshas Vayakhel on the verse “everyone whose heart is generous (nediv),” and in the section beginning “How beautiful are your steps,” regarding “O daughter of the noble.”) And nonetheless it is better to take refuge in G‑d, for

behold, David said, “All nations surrounded me”: that is, in the level of “man” and “nobles” there can be a level of falling, so that “all nations surrounded me, etc.”

But “in the Name of G‑d,” which is the level of the light that encompasses all worlds, “I will cut them off” (amilam): I will cut off and circumcise the foreskin of the heart, as it is written, “And you shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart,” and as it is written, “He revives the dead, etc.,”

as it is written, “and breathe into the slain, that they may live”; and this is the level of dew. (And see Vayikra Rabbah, Emor, chapter 30; and see what is written about this in the section beginning “And He fed you the manna”: that of this it is said, “which your fathers did not know, etc.,” and it is above the level of the Supernal Man.

And the matter of taking refuge in Havayah, it may be said, is the theme of the first verse of the Shema, “Hear, O Israel, Havayah is our G‑d…”: to give over one’s soul at [the word] “One,” which is above the level of the Torah, as is explained in the section beginning “How beautiful are your steps,” mentioned above, and in the explanation on the verse “My dove is but one,”

and in the explanation on the verse “And I shall be sanctified among the children of Israel,” and at the end of the section beginning “For the matter is very near to you.” And through this the souls of Israel are called “the first of His harvest,” for they are the ones who draw down the revelation of the Infinite Light into the Supernal Chochmah, which is the Torah, which is the level of His garment.

And as is explained at the end of the section beginning “And you shall make holy garments,” and above, at the end of the section beginning “On the eighth day, an atzeres,” on the meaning of Simchas Torah: that the Torah, which is the level of “light as a garment,” is in joy because the Infinite Light, blessed be He, is drawn down and clothed in it; see there.

And see what is written in Parshas Yisro, in the section beginning “‘Remember’ and ‘Keep’ in a single utterance”: the matter is that the souls of Israel, through self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) in the Shema, draw down a revelation of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, which is above the level of “man,” of which it is said,

“for He is not a man”; it is drawn down and clothed in their occupation with Torah and in their service in fulfilling the mitzvos, which are in the level of “man.” And this is the matter of “because they did not recite the blessing over the Torah, etc.” And see what is written in the section beginning “And all your children,” and in the section beginning “The heavens are My throne,” on the meaning of “to do and to fulfill.”)

8To understand the matter of the second day of Yom Tov of the Diaspora: every Yom Tov is a level of joy, a revelation of the inward. As in the analogy of a king whose way is to sit in innermost chambers, and at the time of his joy he reveals himself and is seen; and this seeing brings about love. As in the analogy of love for the king,

which comes from seeing his face, through which their love for him grows precious; whereas through hearing from afar, upon hearing of the king there falls [upon one] a level of awe, and not love.

And this is “the face of a lion to the right”: aryeh (lion) has the letters of re’iyah (seeing), from which [something] is drawn “to the right,” which is the level of love. (And see what is written in the section beginning “Yehudah, you,” regarding Reuven and Shimon.)

Now, the essence of this revelation, in which the King reveals Himself and is seen, was in the time of the Holy Temple, at the pilgrimages of the festivals, when Israel would receive the level of seeing the King,

as it is written, “All your males shall appear”; and “he shall see / he shall appear”: in the way he comes to see, etc. There was a level of seeing and revelation from above, and from this the attribute of love was drawn to “all your males,” as it is written, “He remembered His kindness, etc.”

(And see what is written on the theme of “Three times a year… shall appear” in the section beginning “When Israel put ‘we will do’ first,” and in the section beginning “How beautiful are your steps in sandals,” and in the section beginning “A psalm, a song for the dedication of the House,” regarding “and we cannot go up and appear, etc.”

9And see further what is written on the theme of “And G‑d will appear over them” in the section beginning “His left hand is under my head,” in Parshas Ki Sisa. And see further what is written in the section beginning “Va’eschanan,” regarding “Let me cross over, please, and see, etc.”

And see what is written in the section beginning “When you kindle the lamps,” and in the section beginning “And you shall make holy garments,” regarding Aharon [having] the letters of nireh (“will be seen”), etc., from which the level of the light of great love is drawn, etc.

And this is the theme of “all your males shall appear”: it is great love, which is called “male,” as is explained in the section beginning “I will greatly rejoice,” in Parshas Tazria; and see the Zohar (at its beginning, page 2a).

And see what is written in the section beginning “And it shall be for you as tzitzis,” regarding the meaning of “so that you shall remember”: that you shall be in the level of males. And this is through “and you shall see it,”

for tzitzis also comes from the term “peering (metzitz) through the lattices” (below). And see what is written in the section beginning “And you shall make a plate (tzitz) of pure gold,” and see what is written in the section beginning “The eyes of all look hopefully to You,” and see the Zohar, Pekudei (225b),

on the verse “The eyes of G‑d are toward the righteous”; and see what is written about this in the section beginning “If you will listen to the voice,” and at the beginning of Parshas Bechukosai (112a, at the end): “and watch over us, etc.,” and in the commentary of the Ramaz there and there.)

(And see on the theme of “all your males shall appear” in the Midrash Rabbah on Song of Songs, on the verse “My dove, in the clefts of the rock,” that this is the theme of “Show me your appearance”; Zohar volume II, Bo 38a; end of Mishpatim 124a; Tetzaveh 183a; Parshas Shelach 165b at the end, 168a.)

Now it is written, “The voice of my Beloved! Behold, he comes, etc.… watching through the windows, peering through the lattices.”

Meaning: “the voice of my Beloved” is a drawing down; and “watching” is the drawing down of sight, which comes from above “through the windows,” through the level of a window that is open. And this is, by way of analogy, the level of joy, the opening of the heart, etc.

10And this is [what took place] in the time when the Holy Temple stood, when the joy was in its proper place and they received the level of seeing with a revealed heart, in the manner of an open window.

And this is “your eyes are doves”: like doves, which gaze at one another, and this is their delight. And see what is written about this in the section beginning “I am asleep, etc.,” regarding “my dove.”

But in the time when the Holy Temple does not stand, He “peers through the lattices,” through a small hole and crack in the wall. (And see the Zohar, Parshas Bechukosai) (page 114b), on this verse.

And on the theme of “window”: in the Zohar (volume I, 140b), on the verse “And he looked out, etc., through the window,” it explains: through his astrology. And at the beginning of Parshas Balak (184b): “What is ‘through the window’? This is the window of wisdom.”

And see there in the Mikdash Melech, and in the commentary of the Ramaz there in the name of the Ramak; and from there we will learn [it] also for the side of holiness. And along these lines it is explained elsewhere that the window is the chasadim that are in Yesod, and the lattices are the gevuros that are in Yesod.

And in the Pardes, in Erchei HaKinuyim, under the entry “Window,” on the verse “the window of the ark,” he explains that the window is Daas, which draws forth and joins Chochmah and Binah, or that it is the level of Tiferes, etc.

And see what is written on the verse “And I will make your windows (shimshosayich) of kadkod”: the meaning of shimshosayich is windows, and it is the revelation of the level of “sun (shemesh)… Havayah,” etc.

11And in Etz Chaim, at its beginning, Shaar HaKelalim, at the beginning of chapter 1, he writes, and this is his wording: “Know that ‘a sun and a shield is G‑d of Hosts’; and just as the sun is a great supernal light, and one cannot gaze at it except when it is diminished, through a window, or through a screen, etc., or through a small hole, etc.

12“Now, in the World of Atzilus the light comes not through any screen at all, etc., but it comes through a window, that is, from the Yesod of Arich Anpin, which is called a window, so that the light is diminished from the measure

that it has. Also from Chochmah to Binah it comes through a window, that is, from the Yesod of Abba, which is another, smaller window, etc.

Afterwards, from Yesod to Malchus, the light comes from a window that is small and very narrow, that is, from the Yesod of Z’eir Anpin, which is also called a window and is very narrow, like a small hole, etc. But from Beriah downward the light comes through a complete screen, and the light passes through it and shines.” End of quote.

And see about this also in Etz Chaim, Heichal 7 (Shaar 41, beginning of chapter 1 and end of chapter 2; and Shaar 47, chapter 1): that the Malchus of Atzilus breaks and splits the screen between Atzilus and Beriah, and descends and is clothed in the Keser of Beriah.

And according to this it may be said that this is the meaning of “peering through the lattices”: it is when the wall is broken and a lattice-opening, a small hole, is made. And so it is that Malchus breaks the screen, etc.

And this is not like a window, which is an actual revelation of the light, without a screen and wall that would need to be broken; and as is written there at the end of chapter 1, that it no longer has any comparison with Atzilus, etc.; see there at length.

13And one may understand this matter a little in light of what is explained in the explanation on the verse “If you will listen to the voice,” in Parshas Re’eh: that there are two kinds of providence.

The first is in the manner as it is from above to below, where “all before Him is considered as nothing”: the higher unity (yichuda ila’ah). And at times He watches as it is in [the worlds of] Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, etc.

And this is the matter of windows and lattices. The level of windows is as it is in Atzilus, where the light comes without any screen at all; that is, the revelation as “all before Him is as nothing, etc.”

Whereas lattices are a hole and crack in the wall, the wall being the separating screen, which is what causes there to be a level of “something” (yesh). And even though the Malchus of Atzilus splits the screen and there comes to be

something like a hole and crack, from which the self-nullification of the “something” is drawn, nonetheless this is a “something” that is nullified: the lower unity (yichuda tata’ah). And the providence that is in this level and manner is called “peering through the lattices.”

14And according to this the Midrash on Song of Songs on this verse will be explained: “‘Watching through the windows’: this is the merit of the Patriarchs; ‘peering through the lattices’: this is the merit of the Matriarchs.”

For it is explained in the section beginning “You have captured my heart, etc.,” [that in] “with one of your eyes” it is written be’achad [masculine] and read be’achas [feminine]. That is: in the Community of Israel, whose sages are called “the eyes of the congregation,” who are in the level of “gazing at the glory of the King,” there are

those who are in the level of be’achad, a masculine term, who gaze in the self-nullification of the higher unity, as “before Him all is as nothing, etc.”; and there are those who are in the level of the self-nullification of the lower unity, etc.

15And this is the matter of the Patriarchs and the Matriarchs: male and female, from above to below and from below to above. And in this way the providence from above is also drawn: “through the windows,” through the merit of the Patriarchs, and these are the Yesods of Atzilus, as above; and “through the lattices,” which is Malchus breaking the screen, etc., through the merit of the Matriarchs.

And this is what is said in the Zohar, Vayechi (247a), on the verse “Daughters stepped upon the wall (shur)”: “That eye of which it is written above, etc.”

For shur is a term of looking, gazing and watching; and this watching is drawn through the angels of the chambers of Beriah, and this is the matter of the lattices, etc.

Alternatively, it may be said that there are windows and lattices also in the enclothement in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, along the lines of what is written in the section beginning “Let me go down, please, and see,” regarding the two levels: at times it is written, “the eyes of G‑d, they roam” [meshotetim], and at times it is written, “His eyes roam” [meshotetos], a feminine term.

And close to this is found in the Ra’aya Mehemna, Parshas Mishpatim (117a, at the end): “His eyes are upon the ways of man,” and through them “He watches through the windows,” through the seven openings of a person: through the two eyes and two ears, etc.; see there.

And in the Zohar, Pekudei (250a): “Twelve wheels, etc., and they are called Seraphim, etc. These stand to watch constantly, etc., and they are called windows; and this is what is written, ‘watching through the windows,’ etc.”

And there, at the beginning of side b: “From these go out four supports to those twelve we mentioned, etc., and these are called lattices, as it says, ‘peering through the lattices,’ etc.

‘Peering’: like one who watches from a narrow place, who sees and does not see all that is needed; and afterwards, ‘watching through the windows,’ a place of greater watching.”

(And 251a): “Above, the Great Assembly has twelve supernal windows, etc.” And see there in the Mikdash Melech, that they are the twelve letters of the Name Ado-nai spelled out in full.

And see in the Mikdash Melech at the beginning of Bereshis, at the end of the passage “Like a rose among the thorns”: “I found in the words of the Arizal that the point of Malchus that descends to Beriah is called by the Name Ado-nai.”

16And from this will be understood the connection of this matter to what is written shortly afterwards regarding “like a rose among the thorns.” For in the Zohar HaRakia there, at the beginning of Bereshis, on the passage “What is the rose, etc.,”

he explains: the lower Shechinah, which stands upon the twelve oxen, with the sea standing upon them from above; thus they are thirteen, and they are its thirteen petals. And just like this, exactly, is the matter of the above-mentioned twelve windows of the Great Assembly above, etc.; and this suffices for the understanding.

17Now, one may understand this matter of windows and lattices within Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah themselves: how it resembles the manner explained above, that windows are in Atzilus, where the light is drawn without a screen, and lattices are the breaking of the screen.

The matter is that just as there is a screen between Atzilus and Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, so that in Atzilus there is true self-nullification, while in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, because of the screen, a level of “something” (yesh) comes into being, except that nonetheless it is a nullification of the “something,”

so too, in the same way, there is a screen that separates between holiness and the sitra achra: a completely dividing screen, which hides and conceals the light until it becomes actually separate,

like the outer chambers. And all this is explained in Parshas Lech Lecha, in the section beginning “And your name shall no longer be called Avram.”

18Now, through teshuvah, a broken heart and a broken spirit, one breaks the above-mentioned screen, so that the level of the mundane too comes to be done in the purity of holiness, etc.

And this is the matter of the lattices, that is, the breaking of the above-mentioned screen. The windows, however, are the revelation as it is in Beriah, above the level of the screen that separates between holiness, etc.

And this is through the opening of the heart, that is, “joy and gladness of heart from the abundance of everything,” which comes after the level of the broken heart, etc. And in this way the saying of the Zohar in Parshas Bechukosai (114b) will be explained:

“And He goes up the walls to look and to watch over them between the holes of the wall.” And the meaning of “goes up” is that on Yom Tov the drawing down is drawn through the World of Beriah, [for] Yetzirah and Asiyah rise there, etc.

And the matter of “windows” in the plural may be understood along the lines of what is written in the Zohar (volume II, 37a), explaining “who lowers [Himself] to see”: “from crown to crown, etc., from light to light, etc.”; that is, as above, from the Yesod of Arich Anpin to Supernal Chochmah, and from the Yesod of Abba, etc., as above. And see there in the Mikdash Melech.

And in the book Emek HaMelech, Second Gate, chapter 1, he explains the windows as five windows, that is, the five levels of Havayah, the five partzufim, with the upper tip of the yud; and they are “the windows of heaven,” which flow with wisdom, etc. And in the same way the lattices are five lattices, the five gevuros; and see there, that this is also above Atzilus.

19Now, in the revelation of the King there are many distinct levels, as it is written, “on his royal throne, which is in Shushan the capital, etc., he made a feast for all his princes and his servants, etc.

and the princes of the provinces before him, etc.” And afterwards, “for all the people who were present in Shushan, from great to small, etc., in the court of the garden of the king’s palace, etc.”

So it is with the level of seeing from above: the level of “his princes and his servants” (as is explained elsewhere regarding the saying of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai about Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa, “I am like a minister before the King, and he is like a servant before the King” (in the Gemara, end of chapter 5 of Berachos);

and see what is written on the verse “A well that princes dug, etc.,” and, on the matter of “servant,” in the section beginning “And now, please, let the strength be great”) is the level of the lofty souls, who in the time of the Holy Temple would receive the level of seeing from “his royal throne,” etc.

That is: in the revelation, he was revealed in the level of “his royal throne,” “in the royal house, opposite the entrance of the house,” etc., which is a lofty level, a very high and exalted rank. (See Etz Chaim, the Gate of the Throne of Glory, that it is the Chamber of the Holy of Holies of Beriah; and see Sefer shel Beinonim) (Part I, chapter 53).

Alternatively, the Malchus of Atzilus itself is called a “throne,” as is explained in the explanation on Parshas Zachor. And this is “which is in Shushan”: the level of “the rose (shoshanas) of the valleys,” “Shushan, the valley of the awesome one,” etc.

Whereas in the time when the Holy Temple does not stand, there is need for the revelation of the second level and rank, which is “in the court of the garden of the king’s palace,” which is “for all the people who were present in Shushan,”

that is, everyone who has a spark of G‑dliness from the source of the Community of Israel, which is in the level of “like a rose among the thorns,” in exile, etc.

It is a revelation after a revelation, a rank after a rank. (See the Zohar at its beginning, “because there is a rose and there is a rose, etc.,” and the Zohar HaRakia there;

and the Zohar, Vayechi (221a), and the Mikdash Melech there, that “the rose of the valleys” is the supernal rose; and Parshas Ki Sisa (189b, at the beginning of side b),

and in the commentary of the Ramaz there: “And know that the supernal rose, etc.”; and see Sefer Hadras Melech (section 156), and the Zohar, Parshas Pinchas, 233b.)

And one must make a second day of Yom Tov to receive the level of seeing also in this level, when the Holy Temple does not stand and “we cannot go up and appear, etc.,” and as it is written, “Who shall ascend the mountain of G‑d, etc.”

Now, the discerning will understand how much greater, with added eminence, the joy becomes at the revelation of the King in a revelation after a revelation, also to “all the people, etc.,”

more than at the first revelation, which is to “all his princes, etc.” alone; as in the parable of a villager who saw the king, etc.

(And this is like the matter of “And the Ofanim, with a great noise,” compared with the Seraphim: because the Ofanim and the Chayos are in Asiyah and Yetzirah, their noise is greater than that of the Seraphim, who are in Beriah, as is explained elsewhere in several places; and see about this above, in the section beginning “Give ear, O heavens.”)

And as is found in the Tikkunim: “Many waters cannot extinguish the love”: in exile, etc.; “they would utterly scorn him.”

And this is because then the love is in thirst and lovesickness, as it is written (Psalms 63), “My soul thirsts for You, etc.,

in a parched and weary land without water.” “Without water,” precisely: because there is no water, the level of thirst grows, etc.

(And see on this verse the Zohar, Parshas Vayikra, 21b, and Parshas Terumah, 140a at the end; and see what is written above, in Parshas Noach, in the section beginning “Many waters.”) And this is “And I shall see my foes,” precisely: that is, the evil inclination, when it is subdued, etc.

But for this David, the king, peace be upon him, prayed, “So in holiness have I beheld You” (see the Zohar, Terumah, 140, the beginning of side b): that there be such a love also in holiness,

that is, in the virtue and rank of the righteous; for this love is from the level of penitents, and “in the place where penitents stand, the perfectly righteous do not [stand], etc.”

Except that Moshe our teacher, peace be upon him, attained the level of teshuvah before his passing. And the virtue of Mashiach is “to bring the righteous to return in teshuvah,”

that is, that the virtue and rank of teshuvah be revealed in the perfectly righteous, and this depends on the coming of Mashiach specifically. And this is “So in holiness have I beheld You”: that there be the level of “bringing the righteous to return, etc.”

For the Jewish people as a whole must return in teshuvah before the coming of Mashiach, and the coming of Mashiach depends on this, as our Sages said, “If Israel do teshuvah, they are redeemed, etc.” But that the righteous attain the virtue of teshuvah will be only after the coming of Mashiach.

20It may further be said regarding the second day of Yom Tov: the matter of “all your males shall appear, etc.” is that there be a level of seeing and revelation from above.

And this is through a person coming to see the place with his two eyes, etc. (beginning of the first chapter of Chagigah; see there). Now, all the prophets saw through an aspaklaria (a lens),

except that Moshe our teacher prophesied through a luminous aspaklaria, and the other prophets prophesied through an aspaklaria that does not shine. And see in the Eight Chapters of the Rambam, chapter 7, what he wrote on this according to the way of philosophical inquiry.

But according to the Kabbalah there are, in actual fact, two levels of the above-mentioned seeing, as is explained about this in the section beginning “Our Rabbis taught: The mitzvah of the Chanukah light… Beis Shammai say, etc.,”

regarding the two levels of aspaklaria mentioned above. And this is the matter that all the prophets prophesied with “thus” (koh), and Moshe prophesied with “this” (zeh), as is explained about this at the end of the section beginning “The heads of the tribes,” and in other places.

And it is explained there, in the above-mentioned section beginning “Our Rabbis taught,” how in every person, in the service of G‑d, there are also the two levels of aspaklaria mentioned above. That is: occupation with Torah and mitzvos is like the level of the aspaklaria that shines,

for regarding occupation with Torah it is said, “and My words which I have placed in your mouth.” This is like “Moshe prophesied with ‘this,’” and as is explained in the section beginning “The heads of the tribes,” on the meaning of “saying: This is the thing.”

21And the level of the Shema and prayer, “with all your heart,” with both your inclinations, is the matter of the aspaklaria that does not shine, which is through a covering and coating of thin silver, through which reflected light comes about, etc., so as to be “with all your might.”

And see what is written about this in the explanation on the verse “Go out and see,” regarding “From your dwellings you shall bring, etc.” Now, the essence of this level of the aspaklaria that does not shine is now, when the Holy Temple does not stand,

and as is explained about this at the end of the section beginning “My dove, in the clefts of the rock,” on the meaning and matter of “Show me your appearance, etc.” (see there at length), and as is explained at the end of the section beginning “It is not good for the man to be alone,” on the meaning of “I will make him a helper opposite him.”

22And according to this it may be said that this is the matter of the second day of Yom Tov: for on the first day of Yom Tov, which is from the Torah, the level of “shall appear before My face” is drawn down from the level and rank of the aspaklaria that shines;

but the second day of Yom Tov is made to receive the level of seeing from the level of the aspaklaria that does not shine, etc. And as is written in the Midrash Rabbah, the level of “all your males shall appear” is the matter of “Show me your appearance.”

And it is explained at the end of the above-mentioned section beginning “My dove, in the clefts of the rock,” that the level of “Show me your appearance” is in the manner of teshuvah, which is the level of a mirror (mar’eh),

like (a “shpigel”), which is called the aspaklaria that does not shine. And in this there is a surpassing virtue in one respect, etc., like “And the Ofanim, with noise, etc.”

23It may also be noted, regarding the first day of Yom Tov and the second day of Yom Tov, what the sages of truth wrote explaining the First Temple and the Second Temple: that they are the upper hei and the lower hei. And as is explained about this in the section beginning “The Yom Tov of Rosh Hashanah that fell on Shabbos”; see there, letter hei.

24And therefore this level is called “second,” because the letter hei is doubled, [appearing] twice in the Name Havayah. And in the same way one may explain regarding Yom Tov: that on the first day of Yom Tov the Community of Israel receives from the level of the upper hei, and on the second day of Yom Tov from the level of the lower hei.

Or it may be said that in the level of the last hei too there is the filling of the hei, and this is the level of the doubling, as is explained regarding “the field of Machpelah” in the section beginning “Let its reason be revealed to us, etc.” And it may be said that this is the matter of the second day of Yom Tov, etc.; and it may be that these are also the two levels of aspaklaria mentioned above.

25And according to this it may be said that this is what the Ramak wrote in the book Or Ne’erav: that in the Diaspora they cannot receive the illumination in one day as they receive it in the Land of Israel,

but there must be a second day, etc. For every Yom Tov is a drawing down and revelation of supernal holiness from above time into the level of time,

as in the blessing, “Who sanctifies Israel and the times.” Therefore it is made a “good day” (yom tov), in the manner of “the light, that it was good,” and in the manner of “the gate of the inner court, etc., on the day of Shabbos it shall be opened.”

And therefore it is said, “A psalm, a song for the day of Shabbos: It is good to give thanks.” And see what is written on the meaning of “good,” briefly, on the verse “Va’eschanan.”

Now, in the Land of Israel, of which it is said, “a land which the L‑rd your G‑d seeks out,” they can receive that light, “that it was good,” in one day; and in the Diaspora there must be two days. And it may be explained

that every drawing down of the light below is through the last hei of the Name Havayah, and in it there is the filling of the hei, as above.

Now, as with the filling of the hei: when one writes the letter in writing, there is no need at all for the filling, for one grasps the letter well through the essence of the letter alone;

only when one needs to say the letter in speech is it through the filling of the letter, etc., for it is not possible without it.

26And it is known, regarding the matter of the read and the written, that the written is in a higher world; and as our Sages said at the end of chapter 3 of Pesachim on this matter: “‘My Name forever’: not as I am written am I read, etc.” And so in the Land of Israel they can receive the flow from the essence of the letter hei of the Name Havayah.

27And just as in the Temple they would say the Name as it is written, but in the Diaspora it is impossible to receive from this level alone, only through its enclothement in the filling of the hei.

And as, by way of analogy, with the light and radiance of the sun: the nearer the light and radiance are to the luminary, the smaller its quantity appears; and once it has been drawn to a distance from the source, it appears greater.

28And as with a spring and a river: the spring, because of its nearness to its source, is smaller, etc. And in truth this small amount of the spring is like the whole river, in the manner of “the feet of the Chayos are equal to all of them”; and therefore a spring purifies in any amount, etc.

29And see what is written at the end of the section beginning “Many waters,” in Parshas Noach, and what is written in Song of Songs at the end of the section beginning “There are sixty queens,” on the matter of spring and river.

And this is what is said in the Midrash Rabbah on Song of Songs, on the verse “They made me keeper of the vineyards”: the Community of Israel said, “In the Land of Israel I kept one day; now, two days. I thought I would receive reward for both, but I receive [reward]

only for one day.” For in truth that same illumination which shines in the Diaspora in two days shines in the Land of Israel in one day, because of its nearness to its source. And see Zohar volume I, end of Noach (76b). Also,

just as in the essence of the letter hei its filling is also included, the second hei too is included, in concealment, in the essence of the letter, etc.

And nonetheless, what was said above, that there is a surpassing virtue in this revelation of the second day of Yom Tov, is also correct, according to what is explained elsewhere in a similar way regarding the filling: that this is the main intent, that there be

the revelation below; and as the Arizal wrote explaining “One who answers ‘Amen, may His great Name be blessed’ with all his strength (koach)”: and the meaning of “koach” of Ado-nai is the strength of the letters of the filling of the filling of the Name, etc.