לא הביט און ביעקב כו׳

1“He has not beheld iniquity in Yaakov,” etc. Now, there are two levels and rungs Above, the level of Yaakov and the level of Yisrael (and see the Zohar, Balak, 210b, and Parshas Vayishlach, 174a); and these are also two different levels in a person’s service of G‑d: the level of a servant and the level of a son.

That is, the level of Yaakov is the level of a servant, as it is written, “Listen to Me, Yaakov My servant” (and see the Zohar, Kedoshim, 86a); and the level of Yisrael is the level of a son, as it is written, “My son, My firstborn, Yisrael.”

2To understand this, we must first [explain] the meaning and the substance of “servant”: that is, [the fact] that we find the term “service” (avodah), [meaning] that we serve Him, may He be blessed, as it is written, “And you shall serve Havayah your G‑d”; [and] “Because you did not serve Havayah your G‑d”; and it is written, “And to serve Him with all your heart”; [and] “Serve Havayah.”

3Now, the term “service” denotes fixing and attending: the servant attends his master and fixes something for him, since the master needs this fixing and attendance. But how can this be said with regard to the Holy One, blessed be He, who, may He be blessed, is “the perfection of all” and has no need of anything besides Himself, G‑d forbid?

For it is written, “For all is from You”; and an explicit verse states, “If you are righteous, what do you give Him?” etc. But the explanation is this: the saying is well known, “The Holy One, blessed be He, desired to have a dwelling place among the lower realms.”

For in truth, “I, Havayah, have not changed”: there is no change whatsoever with Him, may He be blessed, between before the world was created, when there were He and His Name alone, many thousands and myriads of years before the creation of the world,

(and likewise before the coming into being of time, for time too is created and brought into being anew; only, there was an order of time before the creation of this world, namely from the time of Atzilus and the coming into being of the spiritual worlds, as is written in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar Iggulim veYosher (the Gate of Circles and Line);

but before that, no order of time applied at all, for He, may He be blessed, is entirely above time) and so it will be after the world is destroyed.

And also now, in the time of the world’s creation and its existence, before Him, may He be blessed, all is truly considered as nothing, just as before the world was created; only, this is “before Him” specifically.

But to us the world is considered a being (yesh) and a thing unto itself, and it hides G‑dliness; which is why it is called by the name olam (world), from he’elem (concealment), for it conceals G‑dliness and hides it.

4And the purpose of the creation of the world is that the Holy One, blessed be He, desired to have a dwelling place among the lower realms. That is, this world is the lowest world, in which the concealment is greatest and the darkness is doubled and redoubled (and see what is written above, in Parshas Chukas, in the discourse beginning “Therefore those who speak in parables say,” on this subject.

5And see above, at the beginning of Parshas Shelach.) And this is the meaning of “among the lower realms”: for “above” and “below” do not apply with regard to the Holy One, blessed be He, who is not within the bounds of place, G‑d forbid; rather, “the lower realms” means the intensity of the abundance of concealment and hiding through many contractions (tzimtzumim), etc.; and this is the lowly world.

6And there specifically there is to be a dwelling, and a revelation of His G‑dliness, may He be blessed, in our knowledge as well, just as it is Above, in the supernal knowledge, [in which] “all before Him

is considered as nothing.” And this was the ultimate intent in the creation of the world, even though the reason He desired this is not comprehensible to us; only, thus it arose in His will.

But even so, this was certainly the intent. And how is this revelation and this dwelling drawn down among the lower realms? It is through the levels of iskafya and is’hapcha (subjugation and transformation), as in the analogy of a king of flesh and blood for whom one wishes to make a beautiful dwelling: one must clear the palace of all dirt and filth, etc.,

and afterwards arrange there beautiful furnishings, “a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp.” So is the service of man, as it is written, “And He placed him in Gan Eden to work it (le’ovdah) and to guard it.”

7And our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “to work it”: these are the 248 positive commandments; “and to guard it”: these are the 365 prohibitions. That is, the prohibitions are to purge the evil, “and you shall purge the evil from your midst,” so that there be no dirt

or filth whatsoever, G‑d forbid; and the positive commandments are, by way of analogy, the fixing up and arranging of beautiful furnishings, through which there will be the dwelling among the lower realms, which is the revelation and drawing down of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, below (in the Time to Come; and now the drawing down is in concealment).

And this is why it is called avodah (service), a term denoting fixing: that is, through our service we draw down, so that the revelation should be below, for we accomplish this fixing through our service. (And see what is written on the subject of service in the explanation on the verse “I saw,

and behold, a menorah of gold”: that in order to draw down the revelation below as well, the drawing down must necessarily be from above the order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), and from above the root of the light and life-force that is drawn into the worlds, etc.;

and see what is written on the verse “And these are the ordinances,” on the meaning of “Six years he shall serve”; and on the verse “None shall miscarry,” on the meaning of “And you shall serve Havayah your G‑d,” etc.;

and in Parshas Shelach, on the verse “And they found a man gathering wood,” on the meaning of “service out of love” (pulchana dirchimusa), etc.; and in Parshas Shemos, in the discourse beginning “The voice of my beloved,” on the matter of “hard labor,” etc., “and all labor in the field.”)

And this is the meaning of “the 248 commandments are the 248 limbs of the King”: they are vessels for the indwelling of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, just as the limbs are vessels for the light and life-force of the soul. And this is why we bless, “Who has sanctified us with His commandments,” etc.

82. Now, “the service of the heart: this is prayer”; and it is rabbinic, and is not among the count of the Biblical commandments, as is implied in the Gemara in the third chapter of Berachos (20b)

(and see Magen Avraham, section 106). And we need to understand this: for did not our Sages, of blessed memory, in the Mishnah and the Gemara of the second chapter of Berachos, folio 16, take a far stricter view of intention (kavanah) in prayer, even than of the intention of the recital of Shema, which is counted first among the 613 Biblical commandments?

And this is because it is “things that stand at the height of the world” (in the first chapter of Berachos, 6b). (And see what is written in Parshas Vayechi on the verse “Yehudah, you”; and see what is written also on the subject of prayer in the discourse beginning “Set me

as a seal,” and in Parshas Bereishis at the end of the discourse beginning “The heavens are My throne,” and in Parshas Behar on the verse “You shall keep My Shabbosos,” and in Parshas Chukas on the matter of “Let the city of Sichon be built and established,” etc.) If so, why is it not among the count of the commandments?

The matter will be understood by first stating that the eighteen blessings of the Shemoneh Esreh correspond to the eighteen vertebrae of the spine, within which the spinal cord extends, as is known from the Zohar and from the Gemara, Berachos (28b).

Now, by way of analogy, a person has in his body 248 limbs, which are counted in the Mishnah at the end of the first chapter of Oholos: “thirty in the sole of the foot,” etc., “eighteen vertebrae in the spine,” etc.

But the spinal cord itself, which extends within the vertebrae, is not among the count of the limbs; and nevertheless it is what sustains and maintains all the limbs, for it runs through from the head to the thighs,

and through it the life-force is drawn from the brain to all the limbs: for the limbs are joined to the ribs, and the ribs to the vertebrae, and the vertebrae to the spinal cord; and the cord is not included among the limbs, but it is what connects [them], etc.; and it begins from the brain and extends down to the feet.

Therefore, if the spinal cord is severed, etc. So too in the analogue, in the commandments, which are the 248 limbs of the King: our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Commandments require intention.”

9And the intention is the level of prayer, which is the level of the intention and inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the commandments; and it is the principal thing that sustains and maintains the 248 positive commandments, like the spinal cord in the analogy, which sustains and maintains the limbs, even though it itself is not among the count of the 248 limbs.

10The explanation is that the main intent in prayer is that we ask that the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, which is above the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), be “blessed” (baruch) and drawn down below into the level of the chain of descending worlds.

And this is [the meaning of] “Blessed are You, Havayah”: that is, we ask that there be a coming into being and drawing down of the Name Havayah from the level of “You,” which is the Infinite Light that is far above the Name Havayah. For the Name Havayah denotes the chain of descending levels: the yud is contraction, the hei expansion, the vav drawing down, etc.

And the radiance that is drawn through the descending chain of these levels is only a contracted radiance compared with the Infinite Light that is above the chain of descending worlds. (And see what is written in Parshas Shelach on the verse “I am Havayah your G‑d,” on the matter of “His great Name,” etc.,

and on the matter of “And Havayah will be my G‑d.”) And this is the meaning of the requests in the Shemoneh Esreh: that there be a blessing and drawing down of a great and mighty radiance from above the order of the chain of descending worlds, that is, “Blessed are You,”

and that is into the level of the Name Havayah. (And see what is written elsewhere on the meaning of “From the depths I have called You, Havayah”; and see Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 22, end of chapter 5, on the four bowings and four straightenings in the Shemoneh Esreh, and in Pri Etz Chaim.) And “Who heals the sick of His people Israel”

and “Who blesses the years” are, for example, the vessel in which His G‑dliness, may He be blessed, is revealed below, in physicality, when He gives life and health to the sick and blessing upon the face of the earth, etc. And see what is written in Iggeres HaKodesh, near its end, in the section beginning

“To understand what is written in Pri Etz Chaim”: that prayer is the drawing down of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah specifically, not merely by way of enclothement but the very light itself, to change the created beings from what

they are: that the sick person be healed, and that the rain come down from heaven to the earth and “make it bring forth and sprout”; which is not so with Torah and mitzvos, for there is no change in the parchment of the tefillin, etc.; see there. It follows that all the requests in the Shemoneh Esreh are vessels for the revelation of His very G‑dliness, may He be blessed, below.

11Further, as is known and explained in the Zohar, “blessing does not rest in an empty place”: that is, there cannot be a drawing down of the light unless there are vessels in which it may rest.

Therefore we ask for [particular] matters, healing of illness and the blessing of the years, and likewise all the blessings of the Shemoneh Esreh, which are vessels in which the Infinite Light will rest.

But the main intent is in “Blessed are You, Havayah”: that there be a drawing down of the Infinite Light (and see the Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 6). And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said, that the eighteen blessings of prayer correspond to the eighteen vertebrae of the spine: that is to say, they are vessels for the drawing down and revelation of the Infinite Light that is drawn down through prayer,

just as the vertebrae are vessels for the spinal cord, which is drawn from the brain in the head into them; and according to the Kabbalah this is called the drawing down of the mochin,

just as brain [matter] is drawn down in the spinal cord; and according to Chassidus it is called the drawing down of Daas (knowledge): the revelation of G‑dliness below as Above.

(And now it is well understood; for at first glance there is a contradiction from the Gemara to what has been explained, that the reason prayer is not among the count of the 248 positive commandments is that it is the level of the spinal cord, which is not among the count of the 248 limbs;

yet the Gemara said that the eighteen blessings of the Shemoneh Esreh correspond to the eighteen vertebrae of the spine, and the vertebrae are among the count of the 248 limbs, as mentioned above in the name of the Mishnah in Oholos.

But the matter is understood from what has been explained: in prayer there are two things. The first is the main intent in prayer, which is what we ask in “Blessed are You, Havayah”: that there be a revelation of the Infinite Light, blessed be He.

12And the second is the requests themselves, that He be “Healer of the sick” and “Who blesses the years,” which are only vessels for the light that is drawn down; and the vessels are the level of the eighteen blessings,

just as the vertebrae of the spine are eighteen, and they are vessels for the spinal cord, which is the main life-force, as is written in the chapter Eilu Tereifos, that on it the [status of] tereifah depends; whereas if the spine is broken but its cord is not severed, [the animal] is kosher, for the main life-force is in the cord itself.

13And see the Pardes, toward its end, Sha’ar 31, chapter 8, on the eighteen vertebrae: that they correspond to the three vavs of Vayisa, Vayavo, Vayet, the three patriarchs, Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes, which are vessels for the level of Daas (knowledge) that is drawn into them from the brain of Daas through the spinal cord, etc.

And see what is written above, in Parshas Yisro, in the discourse beginning “Thousands of shinan”: that they are the level of the two tes’s of Metatron, nine Sefiros from above downward and nine Sefiros from below upward; and the nine Sefiros too are

only vessels for the drawing down of the light from the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, which is as a soul to them, as in the saying of the Tikkunei Zohar, “And that flow is like the soul to the body,” etc.

14If so, what is said in the Gemara, that the eighteen blessings correspond to the eighteen vertebrae, means that this is why they instituted eighteen blessings, which are eighteen vessels specifically, corresponding to the eighteen vertebrae, etc.

But the main intent in the commandment of prayer, that there be a drawing down of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, into the vessels mentioned above, is, by way of analogy, the level of the spinal cord itself, which is drawn down from the brain in the head.

15And so it is with the drawing down of the Infinite Light from the level that is above the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), to be enclothed in the level of the chain of descending worlds, etc. And therefore it is well [understood] that it is not among the count of the 248 positive commandments.

That is, the eighteen vertebrae are only vessels, but it itself is the level of the spinal cord. Know [that this is so]: for otherwise, shall we say that prayer is counted as eighteen commandments of the 613, since the eighteen vertebrae are eighteen limbs in the count of 248?

Rather, it must be that prayer itself is the level of the spinal cord, only that it is drawn into the eighteen vessels mentioned above. And “one who does not bow at Modim, his spine becomes a snake,” because through the bowing and the prostrations,

which is the level of self-nullification (bittul), and this is the meaning of Modim, acknowledgment and self-nullification: through this specifically the light is drawn into the vessels, the eighteen vertebrae of the spine.

And therefore it is stated in the Zohar (Mishpatim, 100a, and in Parshas Shelach, 164a) that one who does not bow at Modim will not live in the Time to Come,

as the Pri Chadash brought in Orach Chaim, section 113; and this is because he does not draw life-force and soul into the level of chai (eighteen), which are the eighteen vertebrae, etc.)

163. Now, the eighteen vertebrae mentioned above are inner vessels, and from them the light afterwards spreads into the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) of the vessels; and the number of them all is 248, which are the 248 positive commandments, which are called the 248 limbs of the King,

for they are the level of limbs and vessels for the drawing down of the light (and see what is written on the subject of the 248 limbs and vessels in the explanation on the verse “Moshe would speak,” in Parshas Yisro). And this is the matter mentioned above, that the commandments require intention, and prayer is the level of intention in general.

17The explanation is that we say, “Who has sanctified us with His commandments,” for through the commandments we draw down below a revelation of the level of the supernal holiness of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof);

therefore they require intention: for the mitzvah is the limb and the vessel, and the intention is the drawing down of the light into the vessel, as is written in Sefer Shel Beinonim, chapter 38, in the gloss, in the name of Etz Chaim.

And this is why, in a general way, prayer is the intention: for in it and through it the revelation of the light as a whole (klalus) is drawn down. This is the meaning of the blessings of prayer, “Blessed are You, Havayah”: that we draw down, so that “You,” the very Infinite Light, be “blessed” and drawn down;

and that is through the Name Havayah. And afterwards, through fulfilling the commandments all day, we draw down the light in particular, to be enclothed in a particular mitzvah, which is one limb of the 248 limbs of the King (and see what is written on the verse “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments”);

and it is exactly as mentioned above in the analogy of the spinal cord, through which the life-force is drawn from the brain: for in the brain is the main dwelling and indwelling of the soul, and from there the life-force is drawn into the spinal cord, which extends from the brain of Daas (knowledge), and afterwards it is drawn from it into all the 248 limbs.

And this is the meaning of the blessing over the mitzvos, which is the level of the intention in particular for each mitzvah, “Blessed are You, Havayah, our G‑d, King of the world, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us,” etc.: that this drawing down be drawn into that limb and vessel of the 248 limbs of the King which is that mitzvah.

18And see what is written on the great virtue of the vessels in the explanation on the verse “And the Jews accepted.” But the intention and the drawing down of the light as a whole (klalus) is the level of prayer, which is the level of a soul and life-force for the performance of the commandments.

And therefore procreation, to beget one truly like oneself, which is a drawing down from the essence and very being of the soul that is enclothed in the brain, is drawn down specifically through the spinal cord.

19And this is [the meaning of] “And through Daas the chambers are filled”: the “chambers” are the vessels, which in general (klalus) are three levels, Chesed, Din and Rachamim (kindness, judgment and mercy), whose initials spell cheder (chamber);

and this is the matter of the three lines, which are the performance of the commandments as a whole: “The world stands on three things,” etc. But they are the level of vessels and chambers; and in order that “the chambers be filled,”

that is, the drawing down of the light into the vessels, this is through Daas, which is prayer. And therefore the twelve middle blessings of the prayer begin with “Who graciously grants knowledge,” etc. And see what is written on the verse “And these are the ordinances.”

20Therefore prayer is not in the count of the Biblical commandments: for the count that we count is of the vessels and the limbs, whereas prayer, which is the intention, cannot be counted by itself,

for it is the soul of the vessels; along the lines of what is written in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 22, chapter 1, paragraph 4, regarding Daas (knowledge), that it is not in the count of the Ten Sefiros, for we count only what has a vessel,

but Daas is the level of a soul without a vessel, etc.; see there. And see what is written on the meaning of the word kavanah (intention) on the verse “Your neck with strings of beads.”

However, the matter of the superiority of Torah study, which “is equal to them all,” is that it is the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the vessels, while the commandments are the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) of the vessels: charity and acts of kindness are “Chesed, the right arm,” etc.

(And see what is written further on the subject of prayer and Torah on the verse “When you come into the land… the land shall rest,” on the meaning of the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, “Fortunate is he who comes here with his learning in his hand.”

And elsewhere it was explained how the Torah is above prayer, even though prayer is the drawing down of Daas: for there is a face (panim) and a back (achor). The face is the level of occupation with the Torah, for “the Torah comes forth from Chochmah (wisdom),” and “a man’s wisdom makes his face shine”; and see what is written on the verse “Go out and see” on the matter of “to make the face shine from oil.”

But before this there must be the level of the back, as is written on the verse “Remember what Amalek did to you,” the level of “your going after Me,” etc. And the back is the level of prayer: for the eighteen blessings of prayer,

which correspond to the eighteen vertebrae of the spine, in which the spinal cord extends, all this is at the level of the nape and the back; as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “like two beans set on the mouth of the pot,” that is, the place where the neck joins the skull, at the nape; and there the spinal cord extends from the brain of Daas.

For of the three brains, Chochmah, Binah and Daas, which are in the three cavities of the skull, the two brains Chochmah and Binah are in front, and the brain of Daas is at the back, between the two brains Chochmah and Binah; and from the level of Daas is drawn the level of love and awe in prayer.

For ve’ahavta (“and you shall love”) is related to avah, which means will, and it is drawn from Daas, which draws down the level of the supernal will; for Daas is a term for will, Daas and will being all one matter, as it is written, “Only you have I known of all the families,” etc., which means that He chose and wanted us.

For Daas is a term of bonding and joining, etc.; and therefore the level of ve’ahavta, a term of will, is drawn from the level of Daas and the contemplation in prayer. But will is still the level of the back relative to the supernal delight, which is the level of the face; and of the virtue of will it is said, “For you are a stiff-necked (kesheh oref) people.”

And this is the meaning of “with hard labor”: the service of the heart, which is prayer, crying out to G‑d, must be hard, to stand firm against every hindrance from within and from without, etc., as is explained elsewhere. And this is the meaning of “it is a stiff-necked [people],” and therefore “and You will forgive”: the drawing down of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy after the Shemoneh Esreh.

But through the Torah is drawn down the level of “makes his face shine,” the revelation of the supernal delight, as it is written, “And I was a delight,” etc., “and my delights are with the sons of men,” etc. And this is through the arousal of the will at first, through prayer specifically, as is explained elsewhere on the verse “Red of eyes,”

for delight belongs after the fulfillment of the will: when his will has been fulfilled, etc.; which is not so if he had no longing, etc. All this was explained elsewhere, and it needs examination how to connect this with what was written [here].

And it may be said that there is Torah and there is Torah. That is, when one studies only one chapter in the morning and one chapter in the evening, in settled laws, to fulfill the commandment “and you shall meditate on it,” etc., then it is a mitzvah like all the commandments, which are the level of limbs and vessels;

only that nevertheless it is the level of the inner limbs, on which life truly depends, and therefore “He did not forgo the neglect of Torah,” etc. Nevertheless, prayer, which is the drawing down of Daas, is called light even in relation to the inner limbs.

But when one studies Torah most of the day, to attain the commandment of knowing the Torah through in-depth study of the Talmud, then his Torah is the level of Chochmah, the very brain, which is above the level of limbs; and therefore prayer, although it is Daas, is called the back relative to the very higher Chochmah (Chochmah Ila’ah), etc.

And so it is written in Hilchos Talmud Torah, that the knowledge is a mitzvah by itself, and speaking and meditating in it is a mitzvah by itself. And also, as is written elsewhere on the verse “Esteem her, and she will exalt you,” that the Torah is called garments: “He wraps Himself in light as a garment,” “His garment is like white snow.”

However, through in-depth study of the Talmud, which is the meaning of “Esteem her (salsalehah),” through this a person’s soul is exalted to the level of the source of the Torah, which is the level of “the hair of His head like pure wool,” above the level of a garment, which touches the very essence of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He.

Nevertheless, though prayer is called the back relative to this level, even so it is impossible to come to and draw down from the level of the face except through there first being the will in prayer, etc.,

just as, by way of analogy, in a person: although the drop is drawn from the brain, from the level of Chochmah, nevertheless this drawing down from Chochmah can only be through Daas, “And the man knew,” the level of bonding, etc.

So too prayer, with the fixing of Daas in contemplation of the greatness of G‑d, and the bonding at the level of self-nullification (bittul): through this, when one afterwards studies Torah, he draws down from the level of the higher Chochmah. And of this it is said, “Let him make peace with Me,” etc.: the drawing down of the higher Chochmah into Knesses Yisrael (the Congregation of Israel), etc.

And further: there is prayer and there is prayer. That is, there is a level of love that is limited in a vessel, and it is the level of emotive attributes (middos) drawn from the intellect through Daas.

But the level of “with all your might” and of “the will of the heart” (re’usa deliba) is the level of emotive attributes that are above the intellect, drawn through the higher Daas, etc., as is written elsewhere, in Parshas Toldos, in the explanation on the verse “Many waters”; and through this one arouses and draws down from the level of Keser (the Crown), which is above Chochmah,

which is the Torah; as is written elsewhere, in the explanation on the verse “There are sixty queens,” etc., “My dove is one,” etc., on the matter of the early pious ones, who would spend nine hours a day in their prayer, etc.; see there.)

214. Now, the whole order of prayer up to the Shemoneh Esreh is a preparation for the Shemoneh Esreh: that is, so that one can pray the Shemoneh Esreh with intention, from the will of the heart (re’usa deliba), so that when he says “Blessed are You, Havayah,” the request will be in truth, that he desire, from the will of the heart, that there be a revelation of the Name Havayah.

Therefore, so that a person may reach this level, our Sages, of blessed memory, instituted first saying the Pesukei deZimra (the Verses of Praise) and the blessings of the Shema, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “A person should always first set out the praise of the Omnipresent, and afterwards pray.”

22The explanation is that in the Pesukei deZimra and the blessing of Yotzer we mention the song and praise with which the angels praise and say in awe, three times, “Holy,” etc.

That is, how He, may He be blessed, is holy and separate and not comprehended, for “no thought can grasp Him,” and there is no comparison to Him at all. And the ofanim are “with a great noise” from this, that they comprehend somewhat how He is holy, etc.

Now, the angels are called “standing ones,” as it is written, “And I will give you places to walk among these that stand,” and as is known in the explanation of “acacia wood, standing,”

that is, that they are only at the rung and level of feet (as is written also on the verse “And she fell before his feet and wept and pleaded with him,” etc.; and it is explained in the Zohar)

(Parshas Lech Lecha, 86a): “Who are His feet? These are the angels,” etc. And Israel below are at the level and rung of the head,

for Yisrael is li rosh (“a head for Me”); “Israel arose in [G‑d’s] thought.” And therefore, when a person takes to heart how the angels and ofanim, etc.,

which are only the level of feet, stand in great love and awe and “with a great noise” say “Holy” and “Blessed,” etc., out of their excitement in their comprehension of the greatness of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He,

23while Israel, who are the level of the head, are in a state of sleep, as it is written, “We were like dreamers”: for after prayer the love passes and goes away, and all his salvation and all his desire is only to fill the needs of the body, and they make the needs of the body the main thing, etc.;

through this his heart will be very bitter within him over this descent, that the soul has descended “from a high roof,” etc., “the higher ones below,” etc.; and from this he will be aroused to cry out to G‑d in his distress, from the point of his heart, with the will of the heart, to Him, may He be blessed.

24And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “One may stand to pray only out of heaviness of head (koved rosh).” That is, when he contemplates this great descent, that the head is brought very low, “lying in the dust,” and this is the heaviness of the head;

and from this he will come to great submission and lowliness, which is the plain meaning of “heaviness of head.” And through this he will come to the level of “They cried out to Havayah in their distress,” to be aroused in teshuvah from the will of the heart, to return truly to G‑d.

And this is the level of “And you shall love… with all your heart” in the Shema. And through all this he will afterwards be able to ask, in utter truth, in the Shemoneh Esreh, “Blessed are You, Havayah”: that there be a revelation below of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, which is above the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus).

And all this is the matter of “the service of the heart: this is prayer.” And afterwards there must be vessels for the revelation of the light; and this is the matter of “to work it: these are the 248 positive commandments,” to draw the light into vessels, so that there be a dwelling place among the lower realms.

25Now, our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “One hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come”: for the World to Come is only the level of “the radiance of the Shechinah,” that is, a mere radiance and glow, from which the souls derive pleasure and delight.

But through teshuvah one draws down a revelation of the Infinite One, blessed be He, Himself, who is the source of the light and of the radiance, which is only a glow.

And this is the meaning of what our Sages, of blessed memory, said on the verse “And He placed him in Gan Eden to work it”: “these are the 248 positive commandments”: that through the commandments one draws down an addition of great light into Gan Eden from the Infinite One, blessed be He, who is the source of the radiance;

and this is the “work” of the Garden, that one adds great light to it through the commandments, etc. (And see what is written on this in the explanation on the verse “And Moshe spoke to the heads of the tribes.”)

Now, from all this the meaning and substance of the term “service” has been explained, what it is: that it is to draw down a revelation of the Infinite Light below, a dwelling place among the lower realms, and likewise an addition of light in Gan Eden, etc.

And that is through the fulfillment of the commandments, positive and negative. But commandments require intention, and this is the level of prayer, “Blessed are You, Havayah,” to draw down the light through the service of the heart; as it is written, “If he sets his heart toward Him, he will gather his spirit and his soul to Him.”

And in order that the request in the Shemoneh Esreh, “Blessed are You, Havayah,” be in utter truth, there must first be the Pesukei deZimra, the blessings of the Shema, and the Shema itself, as mentioned above.

26Now, all this is the level and rung of “Yaakov My servant,” who draws down so that there be a dwelling place among the lower realms, through prayer and commandments. Therefore he is called Yaakov, which is the level of yud-akev (a yud and a heel).

That is, by way of analogy, the spinal cord, which is drawn from the brain and extends down to the feet: for the cord reaches as far as the sciatic nerve (gid hanasheh), and there it branches and goes down into the thighs and the legs. And this is the matter of the yud that is drawn down to the level of the heel.

27Now, the yud is “a black point that has no white in it at all,” and it is drawn from the level of “He made darkness His hiding place,” which denotes the level of concealment (sesimu), which is not comprehended at all.

And the service is to draw this level down below, that is, to be enclothed also in this very world, which is the level of the heels. And this is through the practical commandments, which are performed with truly physical things, of the level of the heels, and the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, rests and is drawn down and enclothed in them;

and this is yud-akev: that the yud is enclothed in the level of the heels (and see what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “And Yaakov dwelt in the land,” etc., and in the discourse beginning “Those who come, Yaakov will take root”).

But in order to draw this down through the commandments, there must first be prayer, which is the level of the arousal of the will of the heart (re’usa deliba). For there are four rungs, will and thought, speech and action; and in order to draw down from the level of the yud below,

which is the level of the revelation and drawing down of the supernal will that is enclothed in the higher Chochmah (Chochmah Ila’ah), it is specifically through the will of the heart, the level of “and besides You I desire nothing”; and through this one afterwards draws down a revelation of the level of the supernal

will through the commandments, so that there be “Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us”: that the level of the supernal holiness (kodesh), which is the level of the yud mentioned above, be drawn down below. And therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “over my prayer, that it be close to my bed,” etc.

(One may further say, as is written in Parshas Acharei, in the discourse beginning “For on this day He will atone”: that prayer, Torah and charity correspond to the three levels of thought, speech and action; and this is the meaning of “I created it, I formed it, I also made it.”

And therefore the drawing down must be in order: first one draws down the yud and the supernal will into thought, which is through prayer, whose essence is the service of the heart, etc.)

Now, of this level and rung of “Yaakov My servant” it is said, “He has not beheld iniquity (aven) in Yaakov.” The meaning: aven is deceit and trickery,

as in “and the man of iniquity, his thoughts”: that is, evil thoughts and musings, opposite the level of the good thought of prayer, which is the service of the heart, and the level of holy thought.

28And this is “If I had seen iniquity in my heart.” And so too in speech, opposite this, as it is written, “The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit.” And so too in action, as it is written, “workers of iniquity.”

And when a person contemplates in prayer, with the Chochmah, Binah and Daas of his soul, the greatness of G‑d, there stand against him foreign thoughts of the sitra achra (the other side), which are the thoughts of the “man of iniquity” mentioned above, and the evil musings (and see the Zohar, Parshas Balak, 211a, and the Mikdash Melech there);

yet great is the power of the level of Yaakov even on its own account, for holiness has an advantage over the sitra achra, “as the advantage of light,” etc.; and the main thing is that “Havayah his G‑d is with him,” and that is the help from Above.

29And this is “lo hibit aven beYaakov” (“He has not beheld iniquity in Yaakov”): that the iniquity cannot gaze at the level of Yaakov and confuse him, for it cannot prevail over him; rather, “he will surely fall before him.” (And see above, in Parshas Vayishlach, on the verse “And a man wrestled,”

regarding “that he could not prevail against him”: because Yaakov is yud-akev, the Yesod of Abba, etc.; and this is the matter of prayer, which is the drawing down of Daas (knowledge), which is from the level of the Yesod of Abba, etc.; and see there.)

305. “Nor has He seen toil (amal) in Yisrael.” The meaning: this is an additional virtue in the level of Yisrael that is not in the level of Yaakov. For in the level of Yaakov, the iniquity “has not beheld,” as mentioned above,

but effort is found in it, for Yaakov is the level of “My servant,” and service is a matter of toil and effort, to subdue the sitra achra and to transform darkness, etc., through prayer and the commandments, as mentioned above.

31And this is during all the six days of the week, as it is written, “Six days you shall labor,” that is, just as, by way of analogy, the physical labors: the one who plows, and sows, and reaps, etc.,

so it is in the service of G‑d in prayer: during all the six days of the week there must be this level of service, with toil of the soul and toil of the flesh, to contemplate the greatness of G‑d and to beget love and awe for G‑d, and to remove from his heart the foreign desires of the animal soul, until he has

only one will, for his Father in heaven; for all this is through a great war with the [evil] inclination, as it is written in the Zohar, “The time of prayer is a time of battle,”

and along the lines of what they said in the Sifrei, Parshas Ekev: “Next to your own palace you have not conquered, and you go off conquering?” etc.

So too, if he has not acted to transform his bad traits and to draw down a revelation of G‑dliness within himself through prayer, how can he draw down a revelation of G‑dliness into the world? Therefore he must first conquer his body and his animal soul

through prayer; as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “A person should always regard himself as if the Holy One dwells within his innards, as it is said, ‘the Holy One in your midst.’” And therefore there must be toil and exertions of the soul, so that there can be a revelation of G‑dliness in the soul, and afterwards he will draw down a revelation of G‑dliness into the world.

32And for this reason it is forbidden to eat before prayer: for then the soul is still “in his nostrils,” and how could he refine the food and raise it up? [Not] until after prayer,

when the soul spreads through the whole body; and through this he can afterwards raise up the food and refine the good from the bad. And eating too is called a war, as it is written in the Zohar, “By the mouth of the sword he shall eat bread,”

that is, to wage war with the [evil] inclination, so that the eating be not out of lust but only for the sake of Heaven; and through this he refines the good, etc. (And see what is written on this in the discourse beginning “Thus shall you bless,” in Parshas Nasso.)

33And all this is the service of the six days of the week; and this is the level of “Yaakov My servant,” for this service is toil and effort, as mentioned above, and it is the level of iskafya (subjugation); and this is the level of “one who serves G‑d” (oved Elokim), as is written in [Sefer Shel] Beinonim, Part I, chapter 15.

But on Shabbos it is the level of “when he changed his manner... and he drove him away, and he went,” which is is’hapcha, darkness transformed into light, until it is the level of rest, and no toil is found in it at all, as it is written, “for on it He rested.”

34And this is the level of Yisrael: shir Kel (“the song of Kel”), which is the song of the level of Kel, of which it is written, “The kindness of Kel is all the day.”

That is, the prayer of Shabbos is delight in the greatness of G‑d: Israel delight in prayer through contemplating and comprehending the greatness of G‑d, as it is written, “Taste and see that Havayah is good,” and it is written, “Let Israel rejoice in its Maker,” etc.

(And see what is written in Parshas Chukas on the verse “Then Israel sang,” etc., [that it is] the Israel Above, and that this revelation is on Shabbos; and see what is written on the verse “To a mare” on the matter of “the dew that drips from Atika”; and see what is written on the verse “The Song of Songs.”)

35And therefore “nor has He seen toil in Yisrael”: for the service is not at the level of toil at all, but only to delight in G‑d: “and you shall call the Shabbos a delight.”

And the reason that on Shabbos there is no need for the level of toil and effort mentioned above, which there is on weekdays, is that Shabbos (שבת) has the letters of tashev (תשב, “return”).

36That is, on weekdays it is the level of the descent of the life-force, “her feet go down,” etc.; that is, the Name Elokim is what conceals, etc., as is known regarding “a sun and a shield,” etc.

Therefore there must be the cry in prayer, to go out of the concealment, etc. And this is the meaning of oved Elokim (“one who serves Elokim”): to rectify the concealment and hiddenness that is drawn from the Name Elokim, so that it not conceal and hide.

But of Shabbos it is written, “And Elokim finished (vayechal)”: meaning that the level and rung of the attribute of contraction and concealment of the Name Elokim came to an end, and a revelation of the Name Havayah is drawn down, “a Shabbos to Havayah,” as is written elsewhere, in the discourse beginning “I have come into My garden,” etc.

37And this is [why] Shabbos has the letters of tashev: the ascent of the worlds. Therefore it is called shir Kel and not shir Elokim, for one goes out of the level of concealment, etc.; and therefore a cry does not apply, but on the contrary, delight in G‑d from the revelation that is revealed on Shabbos.

And this too is exactly the difference between the level of Yaakov and the level of Yisrael (and see the Zohar, Vayishlach, 174a), as it is written, “Your name shall no longer be called Yaakov, but Yisrael,” etc., “for you have contended (sarisa) with Elokim,” etc.

That is, he gains mastery over the Name Elokim, which conceals, so that it no longer conceals, and there is a revelation of the Name Havayah; and that is because he has already overcome the concealment of the animal soul, etc. And this is what is written, “Havayah his G‑d is with him”:

truly “with him,” for on Shabbos G‑dliness is revealed in his soul in actual revelation; whereas on weekdays G‑dliness is not revealed in his soul in revelation, but he cries out to G‑d from the point of his heart and wants it to be revealed in him in revelation;

but on Shabbos it is the actual revelation. And this is what is written, “Havayah his G‑d is with him.” (And see what is written in Parshas Tetzaveh, in the discourse beginning “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way,” etc.,

on the matter of the two rungs, the level of the face and the level of the back, which exist in holiness; and this is the matter of the two levels of Yisrael and Yaakov. And opposite the level of the back of holiness stands the level of Amalek, which is not so with the level of the face, etc.; see there.

38Now, the beginning of Amalek (עמלק) is the level of amal (עמל, toil), and therefore specifically of Yisrael it is said, “nor has He seen amal in Yisrael,” etc.;

which is not so with the level of Yaakov: since Yaakov is still the level of the service and effort of holiness, therefore there stands against him the amal of the opposing side, which is from the level of Amalek; only that it cannot prevail against him, for “Havayah has a war with Amalek,” etc.; see there.

But it is impossible to reach the level of Yisrael, which is the level of Shabbos, except by the level of Yaakov, which is the service of the weekdays, coming first; in the manner of “one who toiled on Erev Shabbos,” specifically then “will eat on Shabbos.”

39And therefore one who calls Yisrael “Yaakov” does not transgress a positive commandment, as does one who calls Avraham “Avram,” because the name Yaakov was not entirely uprooted from Yisrael;

for Scripture went back and called him Yaakov. And this is for the reason mentioned above, that it is impossible to reach the level of Yisrael except by the level of Yaakov coming first;

for first there must be the work of the refinements (birurim) of the weekdays, to rectify the concealment, etc., which is the service of the level of Yaakov; and afterwards “he will eat on Shabbos,” to raise them up higher and higher and to delight in G‑d, as is explained elsewhere.

40And this is why on Motzaei Shabbos we say, “Do not fear, My servant Yaakov,” etc.: for on Shabbos we are at the level of Yisrael, which has no need for the level of service and effort to refine the refinements,

for selecting is forbidden; rather, we are then at the level of a son, “children to the Omnipresent” (and see the Zohar, Part III, 94). And afterwards, on Motzaei Shabbos, when the additional soul departs,

and one must again go down to be at the level of “Yaakov My servant” throughout the six days of the week, to refine the refinements in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, etc., therefore one says, “Do not fear, My servant Yaakov,” etc., [do not fear] to go down there;

and with this, strength and might are given, etc. And it is a descent for the sake of an ascent, on the Shabbos that follows. And likewise every day there is a semblance of Shabbos in the Shema and prayer, when we say, “Hear, O Israel,” etc.; see what is written on the verse “My dove.”)

41“And the King’s teruah is in him.” Now, in the meaning of teruas there are two interpretations. The first is a term of breaking and shattering, as in “You shall break them (teroem) with a rod of iron”; and the second is a term of affection and friendship, as Rashi explains in the Chumash here; and both are true.

For we need to understand: at times we find it written, “A king through justice establishes the land,” and “the law of the kingdom is law,” which is from the level of gevuros (severities); and at times it is written, “In the light of the King’s face is life,” “the King’s face shines,” at the level of chassadim (kindnesses).

But the explanation is that there are two levels in the attribute of King, as is written in the Zohar, Parshas Vayechi (239a): “When the King sits on His throne, He is called the supernal King; and when He descends to His servants,

He is called the lesser King.” That is, on weekdays, when He is enclothed in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, He is called “the lesser King,” and this descent is through gevuros and contractions, as it is written, “They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and tell of Your might (gevurah),” and as is explained elsewhere; and then “through justice He establishes,” etc., “the law of the kingdom,” etc.

Which is not so on Shabbos: it is the level of “when He sits on His throne,” as is written in the Zohar, Parshas Terumah (end of 135a and 135b);

that is, on Shabbos there is the ascent of the worlds, and the level of the attribute of His Malchus (sovereignty) rises and is united with its root in the level of Atzilus (Emanation); and of this it is said, “In the light of the King’s face,” etc.,

“and her face shines with the supernal light,” through the revelation of the supernal delight from the level of “the Will of all wills” (Raava deChol Raavin), which is revealed on Shabbos in the attribute of His Malchus, may He be blessed.

And this is “the King’s teruah is in him,” a term of friendship and affection, which refers to the level of Yisrael, which is the level of Shabbos, when “Havayah his G‑d is with him” truly, for he delights in G‑d, as mentioned above.

42And there is drawn down the level of “the King’s teruah is in him”: that is, a revelation of the level of friendship and affection from the level of the Will of all wills, which is drawn into the attribute of Malchus,

which is Knesses Yisrael (the Congregation of Israel) (and see what is written on this also in the discourse beginning “And it shall be, from one New Moon,” and see the Zohar, Part I, 151a and folio 206b);

and also, through this, all the judgments and gevuros that are drawn from the level of “the law of the kingdom” during the six days of the week are sweetened, because of the revelation of the Will of all wills, as is written in the Zohar, Terumah, there: “and all judgments pass away from her,” etc.

43And this is “the King’s teruah is in him” according to the first interpretation, a term of breaking and shattering: that is, the gevuros are shattered, and this is their sweetening, as it is written, “You shattered the sea with Your might”; and as is also known regarding the intent of the teruah in the sounding of the shofar on Rosh HaShanah, that it is to shatter the supernal gevuros of Yitzchak, as is written in the Zohar, Emor.

And this teruah and shattering is through the revelation of the level of the Will of all wills, which is a matter of friendship and affection. It follows that the two interpretations agree as one.