וידבר ה׳ אל משה במדבר סיני באוהל מועד…

1“And Havayah spoke to Moshe in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting,” etc.; “Lift up the head of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families,” etc.; “you shall number them by their hosts, you and Aharon.”

Now, “by their families” means: to the level of the seventy families that came forth from the seventy souls “who came out of Yaakov’s loins.” And in order to raise and to lift up the head and the intellect (mochin) of the souls of Israel, which are rooted in the source from which they were hewn, the level of the Community of Israel (Knesses Yisrael), to raise them up

to the level of the seventy souls mentioned above, “you shall number [them], you and Aharon.” For the levels of Moshe and Aharon are the ones who raise up and lift up the level of the Community of Israel, as it is written, “You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moshe and Aharon.” For Moshe is the groomsman of the King (shushvina demalka), and Aharon the groomsman of the Queen (shushvina dematronisa).

2The explanation of the matter: It is known that the descent of the souls of Israel to be enclothed in a body and an animal soul in this world is a great descent for them from the rank and the level in which they were before

this; for while they were still bound to their source they delighted in the radiance of the Shechinah (Divine Presence) in the higher and the lower Gan Eden. But the descent is for the sake of an ascent.

Now, our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Know from where (me’ayin) you came and to where (le’an) you are going.” That is: the source of the soul is from ayin, the level of the higher Gan Eden (and see in Likkutei HaShas by the Arizal, of blessed memory, on this saying), and it goes to receive its reward at the level of an, which is the lower Gan Eden.

For an is related to the word anah (“whither”), which applies to something that has place and limit, as in “Whither (anah) is your face set” (in Yechezkel, chapter 21),

that is, the level of the lower Gan Eden, which is in a state of place and limit, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said in the ninth chapter of Pesachim, “The world is one-sixtieth of the Garden,” etc. If so, what is the advantage and the superiority [of the descent]?

But the point is that the purpose of the souls’ descent was not only for the sake of receiving their reward in the World to Come; rather, the descent is for the sake of an ascent even while they are still in this world, enclothed in the physical body. This is the meaning of the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, “Better is one hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world than all the life of the World to Come.”

For all the life of the World to Come is that they delight in the radiance of the Shechinah, and this is only a radiance, etc.; whereas teshuvah and good deeds are called in the Zohar “to be absorbed into the body of the King” (le’ishtaava begufa demalka).

(And see in Parshas Yisro, on the verse “Remember the Shabbos day,” and in Shir HaShirim, on the verse “I am asleep,” on the meaning of “to be absorbed into the body of the King.” Now, although the main revelation of this level will be in the Time to Come, and of this they said, “The righteous are destined to have ‘Holy’ said before them,”

nevertheless a glimmer of this level shines in Gan Eden too, as is written in Sefer Shel Beinonim, chapter 39, in the name of the Zohar, “And they delight in the radiance of the Shechinah,” etc., and this is the radiance of their very own Torah and service, etc.

Accordingly, it can be said that the radiance of their Torah and service that shines in the lower Gan Eden is exceedingly higher and loftier than the level that the soul attained even in the higher Gan Eden before its descent into this world. This is understood along the lines of what is written in Sefer HaGilgulim, chapter twenty, quoted in Torah Ohr, Parshas Chayei Sarah, in the discourse beginning “See what is written in Etz Chaim,”

and so it is in the Ramaz at the beginning of Parshas Mishpatim: that the level of Atzilus (Emanation) itself is enclothed in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, in their inner dimension (pnimiyus); and the Atzilus of the inner dimension of Asiyah is infinitely greater than the greatest level of Beriah as it is of itself.

Now, the higher Gan Eden is of Beriah, and through Torah and mitzvos one draws down the mayin duchrin (masculine waters) of Atzilus, as is explained in the discourse beginning “See what is written in Etz Chaim” mentioned above, and in Parshas Bereishis, in the explanation on the verse “For as the new heavens,” etc., that the drawing down of Atzilus into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah comes about specifically through Torah and mitzvos; see there.

It follows that the soul, before it descended into this world to fulfill the Torah and mitzvos, when it was in the higher Gan Eden, which is in Beriah, did not attain at all the level of the Atzilus that is within Beriah; for the level of Atzilus is drawn down only through Torah and mitzvos, as mentioned above. And even the loftiest souls in the higher Gan Eden attained only the level of the Beriah within Beriah.

This is [the meaning of] “Israel arose in thought”: thought is the level of Beriah, and “arose in thought” means the highest level within thought, namely the level of thought within thought, which is the Beriah within Beriah; whereas the level of Atzilus they did not attain at all. And although, in the meaning of “arose in thought,” there are in truth interpretations

far higher than the level of the Gan Eden that is in Beriah, as is explained on the verse “My dove, in the clefts of the rock,” and in other places, nevertheless, once the soul has descended into Gan Eden, before its descent into the body, it is at the level of Beriah. But through their descent into this world, in fulfilling the Torah and mitzvos, there is drawn down to them the radiance of their Torah and service,

which is a glimmer of the mayin duchrin of Atzilus itself. Therefore, even when this revelation is drawn down to it only in the lower Gan Eden, which is in Asiyah, this is like the Atzilus that is drawn down and enclothed in the inner dimension of Asiyah, which is infinitely higher than the greatest level in the higher Gan Eden as it is of itself,

which is like the level of the Beriah within Beriah, as mentioned above. And see what is explained on the verse “Who has counted,” on the subject of “I have even made him” (af asisiv): af (“even”) includes a fourth level, and it is the revelation of the light of Atzilus, which is drawn down and revealed only through the descent of the soul into this world specifically; see there.

The idea of Atzilus itself being enclothed in Asiyah can be pictured from the prophecy of Moshe our teacher, peace be upon him: there shone in him even the level of the supernal Atzilus itself, even though he was enclothed in a body of physical Asiyah. And see what is explained about this in the explanation on the verse “I will greatly rejoice,” etc.,

and as is written in Sha’arei Kedushah by Rabbi Chaim Vital, part 3, gate 6, that the prophecy of Moshe our teacher, peace be upon him, was from Atzilus itself, by way of passing through Beriah. And see what is further explained on the revelation of the radiance of the Shechinah in the lower Gan Eden through the performance of the mitzvos, in Parshas Shelach, on the verse “And now, I pray, let [the power] be great,” etc.; see there.)

But how, and by what, is the virtue of teshuvah and good deeds made so great? It is through two levels: “in the wilderness of Sinai” and “in the Tent of Meeting.” The level of midbar (“wilderness”) is [the sense of] what is written, “and your speech (midbarech) is lovely,” from the word dibbur (“speech”). For

“the word of Havayah”: this is the revelation of the Shechinah, etc.; and when it is enclothed in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah it is called midbar, with the addition of the letter mem, an open mem, because then there is an opening and an entrance for the external forces, namely the kelipos (husks) and the sitra achra (the other side), to nurse and receive life-force from it in its enclothement in Asiyah, etc.

(And see the Zohar, Part I, page 6b: “whereas the closed mem is the world of freedom,” freedom from the Angel of Death, etc. And see in the Zohar at the beginning of Parshas Shelach on the subject of “lemarbeh hamisrah” [written with a closed mem], and in the Mikdash Melech there.)

For at the time when the Holy Temple stood, it was called midbar in the sense of “He subdues (yadber) peoples,” etc., for they were all subdued under holiness,

and the souls of Israel were “His dominion.” (Along these lines our Sages, of blessed memory, said in the third chapter of Rosh HaShanah, page 23, on the verse “I will set in the wilderness the cedar,” etc., “and midbar means only Jerusalem.”)

But at the time of exile, our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “They were exiled, etc., [and] the Shechinah was with them”; and it is called midbar, like “a land of wilderness and drought,” as it were. And just as it is in the world as a whole, so it is in particular in the soul of man: at the time of exile

the G‑dly spark in a person’s soul, too, is in the exile and prison of the physical body, in “the thoughts of man and his schemes, and the impulses of the deeds of man,” in the vanities of the world. And the descent of the G‑dly spark into this exile is for the sake of an ascent,

namely, in order to refine and separate the evil in the animal soul, the garments of Nogah, etc. (for the soul itself needs no rectification, etc.),

as is explained elsewhere. And this ascent too must be at the level of midbar, that is, through the speech of prayer, with flashes of fire and thirst, etc.,

and the outcry of the heart, as it is written, “Their heart cried out,” etc. For as long as one does not arouse the love in prayer like flashes of fire, until [the soul] desires to strip off its garments of Nogah,

a person by his nature is a mixture of good and evil; and though he does no evil in actual deed, this is because the evil is asleep in him.

Nevertheless, in his nature it remains in its full strength, as at its birth, until he separates it with the flashes of fire (as is explained elsewhere on the verse “The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, and a man according to his praise”) of love; that is, that it be at the level of thirst, like “a land of wilderness and drought,” etc.,

which is a salt land, unsown, in which no grass grows, because it has no life-force of the power of growth. And so a person should take to heart that even all the higher worlds, “from the head of all levels,” etc.,

are at the level of a wilderness and desolation, and the level of actual inanimate matter that has no life-force at all, in relation to the Holy One, blessed be He. For “You have made the heavens and the heaven of heavens,” etc.,

“and You give life to them all”: that He, may He be blessed, is Himself the life-force of all the worlds, and there is nothing else besides Him, and there is naught apart from Him, and they are as if they were not.

3Therefore the soul of every living being will yearn for Him, to cleave to Him, may He be blessed, the Life of all life, blessed be He; as it is written, “To love Havayah your G‑d … for He is your life,” meaning that your life is nothing

but He. And as it is written, “See now that I, I am He, and there is no god with Me.” But this verse was said about the Time to Come, when they will say, “See now

that,” etc., in the manner of actual sensory sight, as it is written, “And the glory of Havayah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see,” etc., and it is written, “For eye to eye they shall see,” etc.

Whereas now, in the time of exile, it is the level of thirst to come to this level and rank, that there be sensory sight, as it is written, “My soul thirsts for G‑d, for the living G‑d; when shall I come and see,” etc.

Now, it is written, “Hungry and thirsty too, their soul fainted within them; and they cried out to Havayah in their distress,” etc. From the level of thirst, until his soul faints within him, there is born the level of the outcry in the heart over the opposite [state],

for the exile and the prison of the physical body are very distressing to him. That is: when he takes to heart that there is no true life-force (chayus) for all the created beings, even for the higher worlds,

but only You are the One Who gives life, etc., then because of this he will lay guilt upon his soul for how he is utterly far from G‑d, and his life is no life, only a life of vanity.

4This is [the meaning of] “in the wilderness of Sinai,” [Sinai,] on which hatred came down upon the evil: for the level of wilderness and thirst brings about the arousal of hatred for the evil, so that there is the outcry of the heart, and so on, as mentioned above.

With this one will understand why they instituted prayer specifically at the time of the destruction of the Holy Temple: for at the time when the Holy Temple stood, the evil of the kelipos (husks) and the sitra achra (the other side) did not have so much rule and dominion to cling to a person.

5“All the workers of iniquity shall be scattered,” etc. But at the time of the destruction of the Holy Temple, “a time when man rules,” etc., the overpowering strength of the evil inclination and of the animal soul must be separated specifically through prayer, with flashes of fire and thirst and the outcry of the heart, etc.,

as mentioned above. And they instituted prayer every day, for every day a person’s inclination overpowers him, and one must add strength, etc. And of this level of prayer it is said, “and your speech (midbarech) is lovely”: that is, when it rises at the level of wilderness and thirst, etc.

(This is what is found in the Zohar, Part III, Parshas Acharei, page 72a, on the verse “Bring her out, and let her be burned”: “with the flames of the noonday heat, in exile.” That is, because “they brought her out” into exile, which is the level of a wilderness, “a parched and weary land without water,” the level of thirst and love grows great, “with greater strength,” which is the level of teshuvah (return).

And this is “and let her be burned”: the flashes of fire of love, like the level of the seraphim that is explained on the verse “And I shall be sanctified in the midst,” and see what is explained on the verse “And I shall see.”

And this is “and your speech is lovely,” like “I am black, [but lovely]”: through this specifically, “and lovely,” as is explained elsewhere. Also, “and your speech is lovely” means the speech of prayer and of Torah; see the Zohar, Part I, Vayechi, page 246b, and page 10, end of side a: “through that midbar, the whispering of the lips, she ascends,” etc.)

Now, along these lines all of Pesukei deZimra (the Verses of Praise) were instituted: to arouse and to increase the level of thirst “within man, and the heart is deep,” as he takes to heart how even the heavens and the heaven of heavens and the waters that are above the heavens “shall praise the Name,” etc.,

only the level of His Name; and even the level of His Name is “exalted,” at the level of “alone,” for no thought can grasp Him at all, but only the splendor and radiance of His Name are “upon earth and heaven,” etc.,

as is explained elsewhere. And likewise, along the same lines, is the blessing “Who forms light,” etc.: how the angels say “Holy,” etc., that He is holy and separate, etc.,

and there is no comparison to Him, may He be blessed, even more than there is no comparison of the level of the inanimate to the level of man, who has intellect and is living and speaking, etc.,

as is explained elsewhere. (And see what is explained in Parshas Vayechi, on the verse “Binding his foal to the vine”; in Parshas Beshalach, on the verse “I will sing,” in the explanation of “Master of wonders” and “Doing wonders”; and in Parshas Mishpatim, at the end of the discourse beginning “See in Sefer Shel Beinonim, chapter 46.” From this it will be understood that even the level of the supernal midbar)

(below), the level of “where no man dwelt,” of which it is said, “in the great and awesome wilderness,” is nevertheless, in relation to the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, considered actually like a wilderness and a desolation; as is also explained on the verse “I am black,” on the subject of Keser (the Crown)

Elyon (Supreme): “even though it is a clear light, a dazzling light, it is black in relation to the Cause of causes,” etc.; see there. All this is the increasing of the thirst from below upward, and it is the level of “the wilderness of Sinai,” etc.,

until the blessing “With an everlasting love You have loved us”; for the blessing of Ahavas Olam is a drawing down from above to below, to quench the thirst, etc. (and see what is explained on the verse “And I will betroth you to Me forever,” etc.), and it is called the level of “the Tent of Meeting.”

62. The explanation of the matter: The word mo’ed (“meeting”) is from the expression “And I will meet (venoadti) with you there”; and venoadti has the same letters as venodati (“and I will be known”)

(and see what is explained above in the discourse beginning “Lift up the head … by their skulls,” and see what is explained at the beginning of Parshas Va’eira, at the end of the discourse beginning “Va’eira,” on the subject of nodati), which is an expression of bonding and joining, as in “And the man knew,” etc.

That is, the drawing down of the unity of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, below, so that His true unity, may He be blessed, rests and is revealed in a person’s soul: how He fills all worlds (memalei kol almin) equally, and even “the whole earth,” this one, “is full of His glory,” may He be blessed, etc.,

for He is the Life of all life, blessed be He, and there is nothing else besides Him, etc. Therefore the soul’s joy in G‑d will be great, to delight in G‑d with the level of “love in delights,” because of the nearness of G‑d and its cleaving to the living G‑d, in place of its having thirsted, “When shall I come and see,” etc.

And He has quenched its thirst with the revelation of this unity, and “has satisfied the longing soul,” etc. As it is written, “Serve Havayah with joy”; and it is written, “Because you did not serve Havayah your G‑d with joy and with gladness of heart, from the abundance of all.”

7“From the abundance of all” means: more than all the delights, even spiritual ones, the level of the higher Gan Eden, etc. And see what is explained on the verse “To offer to Me in its appointed time (bemo’ado).”

But what is the way for the unity of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, [to come] below into a person’s soul, since “no thought can grasp Him,” etc.?

But in truth it is through the level of a tent, and this is “the Tent of Meeting.” The matter is as it is written, “And in the shadow of My hand I have covered you,” etc.

(and see what is explained on this subject on the verse “On the eighth day, an assembly,” the second discourse): the level of a shadow, and not of revealed light. That is, through the level of the 248 commandments (pikudin), which are “the 248 limbs of the King”; and they are called limbs by way of analogy,

like the limbs of the body, which are flesh, sinews and bones, and without salting they rot, and nevertheless the life-force (chayus) of the soul rests and is enclothed in them. So too, by way of analogy, are the 248 mitzvos: although they are enclothed in physical matters, the Order of Zeraim (Seeds) and Moed (Festivals), etc.,

nevertheless the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) itself, blessed be He, rests and is enclothed in them, since they are His very wisdom and will, may He be blessed; and He, may He be blessed, and His will and His wisdom are all one, etc.

Now, by way of example: one who loves his friend, and because of his love embraces him, [taking hold of] his body or his hand; certainly he does not embrace him because of love for the body itself or for the hand itself,

but because he loves his inner dimension (pnimiyus) and his life-force, he embraces him, [taking hold of] his body or his hand, since it is impossible for him to take hold of his inner dimension and life-force alone.

So too, by way of analogy, it is written, “And His right hand embraces me,” which is the Torah, called the right hand of the Holy One, blessed be He. So when a person cleaves to the Torah, this is actual nearness to G‑d and the actual unity of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, in his soul.

And this unity is a wondrous and mighty unity, the like of which does not exist in physical things; therefore it is called being truly “absorbed into the body of the King.” And see what is explained in the discourse beginning “How goodly are your tents, Yaakov.”

83. Now, these two levels, the wilderness of Sinai and the Tent of Meeting, are brought about and drawn down through the levels of Moshe and Aharon. For Moshe is the groomsman of the King; that is,

just as, by way of analogy, the groomsman of the groom leads the groom to the place of the bride, so Moshe our teacher, peace be upon him, is the one who draws down the level of the unity of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, so that it rests and is revealed in a person’s soul, that it be at the level of the Tent of Meeting, etc.

And “the extension of Moshe in every generation,” for he is one of the seven shepherds, etc., is the level of Moshe, the knowledge of G‑d: that is, to know G‑d, that He is the Life of all life and there is nothing else besides Him, etc.,

as it is written, “Know the G‑d of your father, and serve Him.” And the level of Daas (knowledge) is not knowing alone; rather, daas is an expression of feeling, namely the feeling in the heart, that he recognize and feel as though he sees with eyes of flesh, in actual sensory sight, as it is written, “See now

that I, I am He, and there is no god with Me.” And although this verse was said about the Time to Come, when they will say, “See now

that I,” etc., as mentioned above (and see in the Gemara, the sixth chapter of Pesachim, page 68, end of side a; Sanhedrin, page 91b; the Zohar, Part I, Parshas Lech Lecha, page 87b; Part II, Mishpatim, page 108b),

nevertheless this power exists in every nefesh and neshamah of Israel, through its drawing nurture from the soul of Moshe our teacher, peace be upon him: to bind one’s thought to G‑d with a firm and strong bond, as it is bound to a physical thing that one sees with eyes of flesh, etc.;

only that it requires great toil, etc., as is written in Sefer Shel Beinonim, chapter 42 (and see what is explained on the verse “And He called to Moshe, and Havayah spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying”).

And Aharon is the groomsman of the Queen (Matronisa). That is: the Matronisa is the level of the Community of Israel (Knesses Yisrael), the source of the souls of Israel; and raising the souls of Israel, binding them to G‑d and cleaving to Him, may He be blessed, the Life of all life, blessed be He, is through Aharon, who is also one of the seven shepherds, etc.,

who draws down to the souls of Israel as a whole (klalus) that there be an arousal of the soul, the level of wilderness and thirst and flashes of fire, etc.; for the service of Aharon is “When you raise up the lamps.”

That is: the lamps are the souls, for “The lamp of Havayah is the soul of man”; and through Aharon was their kindling and their bursting into flame, like flashes of a flame, etc., as is explained elsewhere.

But there is one thing more: it is impossible to come to these levels and ranks, which are the levels of the wilderness of Sinai and the Tent of Meeting, etc., which is the matter of the soul’s going out of its sheath, the garments of Nogah, etc.,

and the soul’s rejoicing in G‑d, its Maker, etc., until he first separates from his soul the filth of the impurity of complete evil, which comes from the three utterly impure kelipos, that is, to “turn away from” complete “evil” in actual deed; and this is the matter of the going out from Egypt.

9And this is [the meaning of] “on the first of the second month, in the second year after their going out of the land of Egypt,” etc.: for the level of the month and the level of the year are all one, and it must be at the level of “second” from the going out of Egypt,

that is, after there has been a complete and utter turning away from evil; and then one can come to the level and rank of the wilderness of Sinai and the Tent of Meeting, etc.,

through the levels of Moshe and Aharon, etc., as mentioned above. (And in the Midrash Bamidbar Rabbah) (section 3, page 214, column d) it is stated that Israel went out of Egypt only in the merit of the Tent of Meeting.

That is, “were it not for His help, he could not overcome it,” as is explained about this on the verse “I am Havayah your G‑d, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt,” in Parshas Shelach; and this help is in the merit of the level of

the Tent of Meeting mentioned above. And see the Zohar, Part III, Parshas Bamidbar, page 117b: “‘On the first of the second month, in the second year’: it is all one; and this is called ‘the month of Ziv (radiance),’ an allusion to that month and year that shines upon the moon.”

That is: the first level, of the going out of Egypt in the first month, is the level of turning away from evil, and it is the level and rank of subduing the sitra achra (iskafya),

and this is the foundation of foundations. And afterwards the second month is called “the month of Ziv,” which shines upon the first level: that is, to come to the level of transforming darkness into light (is’hapcha chashocha linehora), which is the matter of the wilderness of Sinai, etc., flashes of fire and thirst, etc.

And these are also the two levels of the outer court and the inner court; see what is explained on the verse “And the king extended to Esther.” And see further on this subject in the Zohar, Part III, Beha’aloscha, page 152b; and what is written there, “And if you say,” etc.,

“it is not so,” etc., “and whoever takes the foundation first,” etc., will be understood by the discerning from what is explained on the verse “Take from among you an offering,”

in Parshas Vayakhel, on the subject of the level of iskafya, that it contains a level that is above the level of is’hapcha. And see what is explained in Shir HaShirim on the verse “The voice of my beloved,” etc., on the subject of “leaping over the hills.”

104. With all the above, one will understand what is written, “Lift up the head,” etc. For our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “We do not call [anyone] ‘fathers’

except three,” who are Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. The attribute of Avraham is love; that of Yitzchak is awe, “the Fear of Yitzchak”; and the attribute of Yaakov is compassion, which is composed of both, etc.

11Now, the attribute of compassion is drawn from the level of Daas (knowledge), as we plainly see that it is the nature of a small child to be cruel, because he has no daas;

and so too is the meaning of what is written, “As a father has compassion on his children,” and not “as a mother has compassion,” etc., because women’s daas is light, whereas a man, because his daas is broader, has more compassion. And just as

it is with regard to the one who has compassion, so it is with regard to the one who needs compassion, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Whoever has no daas, it is forbidden to have compassion on him,” for compassion applies only to one who has daas.

12Now, Yaakov’s attribute of compassion is to arouse great compassion even on the higher worlds, because of the knowledge of G‑d, etc.,

for He is the Life of all life and there is nothing else besides Him, etc. Thus the compassion is the same for the higher worlds, “from the head of all levels,”

as for the very lowest, since they are all at the level of a wilderness and desolation, etc., and “all before Him is considered as nothing,” for He gives life to them all equally, and above and below are equal before Him, etc.

But in the chain of descending levels (hishtalshelus) and the drawing down of the levels, there is drawn down from the level of Yaakov the level of the twelve tribes (shevatim): shevet is an expression of extending, as in kochva deshavit (a comet, a trailing star); and it is

like, for example, the branches of a tree, which extend from the tree: so from the attribute of compassion of the level of Yaakov there extends another attribute of compassion, of the level of the twelve tribes.

13The matter is that the level and rank of the tribes is what is written, “It stood upon twelve oxen … and the sea was upon them, above”: the twelve oxen are a chariot (merkavah) for the level of the sea. And “there the tribes went up,”

as it is written, “And in the Name of our G‑d we will set up our banners”: that is, the banners are a chariot for the level of the Name of G‑d, which is the level of the sea; and it is the level of the source and beginning of revelation, the level of the revealed world (alma de’isgalya), to give life to and bring into being the revealed worlds (almin de’isgalyan).

14Now, the level of the revealed worlds, which receive their life-force (chayus) from the level of the revealed world, are what are called “the lower waters,” and they are called “weeping waters,”

as is found in the Zohar, that the lower waters weep: “We want to be before the King.” That is because of knowledge and apprehension: for there are waters higher than they, at the level of the hidden worlds (almin sesimin), which are not revealed,

but they are called the lower waters (“And G‑d separated between waters and waters”), for the hidden worlds receive their life-force from hidden powers and flows, etc.,

as is explained in Sefer Shel Beinonim, Part II, chapter 11. Therefore they weep over their descent far, far below, and all their desire and their salvation is to be “before the King” specifically.

And so is the level and attribute of compassion of the twelve tribes in every person: to arouse great compassion on the spark of G‑dliness that came down from its place of glory, from a high place to a low place, “from a lofty roof,” etc.

(and see what is explained in Parshas Vayeitzei on the verse “And Lavan rose early,” and on the verse “As an eagle stirs up,” and on the verse “And He fed you the manna,” etc.). Now, in the chain of descending levels, level after level, there came forth from the twelve tribes the seventy souls “who came out of Yaakov’s loins,”

who are also a level and rank of compassion, the attribute of Yaakov. And this too is in every person: to arouse great compassion on his soul, not only because of the descent alone, that it came down from its place of glory, but even this, that it has been enclothed in the garment of the material body.

15Now, every level and rank of the drawing down and arousal of compassion on one’s soul, and of raising it and binding it to G‑d, are supernal flows that come from above, as it is written, “And He will give you compassion, and have compassion on you,” etc.

And so we say in the blessing Ahavas Olam: “Our Father, compassionate Father, Who has compassion, have compassion on us, and put understanding into our hearts,” etc.

And this is not from the side of the soul itself, according to its own apprehension; for it comes from the nullity of apprehension, and of the apprehension of created beings, etc.;

and it is from the level of the knowledge of G‑d, from the level of Moshe our teacher, peace be upon him, etc. (as is explained in Parshas Pinchas on the verse “The one lamb you shall offer,” etc.).

Now, the three levels and ranks of the three kinds of compassion mentioned above are in their order from above to below; but in order to raise up the soul of man, which is far, far below them, one must raise [it] in their order from below to above:

that is, first “by their families,” the level of the seventy souls; and afterwards “by their fathers’ house,” the level of the sons of Yaakov; and afterwards to the rank of Yaakov, etc.

(And it can be said that corresponding to this, we mention and awaken an arousal of compassion in three places in the prayers: the first in Pesukei deZimra, as we say, “And He, being compassionate,” etc., “Remember Your compassion,” etc.; and likewise in Baruch She’amar, “Blessed is He Who has compassion,” etc.; and likewise in Ashrei, “Gracious and compassionate is Havayah.”

The second, in the blessing Yotzer Or: “In Your great compassion, have compassion on us.” The third, in Ahavas Olam: “Our Father, compassionate Father,” etc. All this is the arousal of the three levels of compassion mentioned above, in their order from below to above, before the Shema, so that one can come to say the Shema, the level of “One” and “And you shall love,” etc.)

Now, this is the matter of the counting of the Omer: to draw down, in seven weeks, the level of compassion, from the level of the seventy souls, etc., until the day of the festival of Shavuos, which is the time of the Giving of the Torah, when “at every utterance their souls flew out,” etc.,

which is the revelation of the level of great love (ahavah rabbah), which is far, far above the level of Daas (knowledge), etc.; and this is the level of “a service of gift,” etc.,

and the level of the fire from above, etc. And this is “by their skulls” (legulgelosam): it is the matter of the skull (gulgoles), which hovers over the head and the intellect (mochin), which cannot be enclothed in them.