ציון במשפט תפדה ושביה בצדקה

1“Zion shall be redeemed through justice, and her captives through charity.” (See [Midrash] Rabbah, Mishpatim, chapter 30, and in Parshas Eikev, on “And He will keep,” etc., “the kindness.”)

Now, it is written, “And these words, which I command you today, shall be.” That is, [“today”] refers to every day, for every day they should be in your eyes as new. But how does one come to this, that it should be so?

This will be understood by first [explaining] the purpose of the descent of the souls from above, where they had been before the six days of Creation. For the angels came into being in the work of creation, by the breath of His mouth, blessed be He: some say on the second [day] and some say on the fifth, “and let birds fly,” etc.

2“Birds”: this is Michael, etc. But the souls, which were drawn from the level of thought, existed before the six days of Creation, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “With whom did He take counsel? With the souls of the righteous.” And not the righteous alone, but, as it is written, “And your people are all righteous.” And their descent into a body is for the sake of an ascent.

3To understand the matter of this ascent, since even without this they arose in thought, it may be explained [through] the meaning of “The soul that You have placed within me is pure,” etc.

This is the beginning of prayer, even before [the blessing] “Who formed (asher yatzar),” as is written in the Gemara, in the last chapter of Berachos, folio 60b: “When he wakes from his sleep he says, ‘My G‑d, the soul that You have placed within me is pure,’ etc.”

That is, “is pure” is from the level of the supernal purity (tehiru ila’ah). And afterwards he says, “You created it”: creation (beriah) is something from nothing; up to “You breathed it into me,” the soul’s being invested within the inside of the body, to give it life. “And You guard it”: that it not leave the body,

and this is in the manner of an encompassing [light] (makif). So too, the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin) and fills all worlds (memalei kol almin). This does not mean that it [merely] encompasses from above; rather, in every place and corner it fills, like the life-force invested in the created being, and it encompasses from above in the manner of guarding, so that the life-force not cease and depart, etc. And see what is written in the Biur on the verse “You have captured my heart, my sister.”

4Now, “As long as the soul is within me, I acknowledge (modeh ani)”: each and every one is able to acknowledge G‑d. But afterwards one must say, “Blessed are You, Havayah,” which is a higher rung than the level of acknowledgment (hoda’ah).

To understand this, and what acknowledgment is: [we say,] “The Sages concede (modim) to Rabbi Meir,” because at first they disagree. And how can such a thing be said in relation to Him, blessed be He?

But [the explanation is] that we, who dwell below, say that creation is something from nothing: that heaven and earth and the heavens of the heavens are the “something” (yesh) that is visible to our eyes, and what is above is the “nothing” (ayin).

For Him, blessed be He, however, it is the opposite of what is visible to our eyes, for “all before Him is considered as truly nothing,” and whatever is lower is all the more as nothing and as naught,

and He, blessed be He, is the true “something” (yesh). (And see what is written on this in the discourse beginning “When Israel put ‘We will do’ first,” and at the end of the discourse beginning “When you listen to the voice.”)

And about this we say, “We acknowledge (modim anachnu)”: that we acknowledge that the truth is as it is in His knowledge, blessed be He. And each and every one of Israel has this level of acknowledgment.

Nevertheless, this acknowledgment is from afar; that is, he himself is not near and close to that which he acknowledges, except through the level of faith, which is the level of a crown (atarah) and of an encompassing [light] (makif).

Therefore, “the thief at the mouth of the tunnel calls upon the Merciful One”: thus he believes in the power of the Master of the world, etc. But blessing (berachah) is revelation,

as in “Yishmael, My son, bless Me.” And so, “Blessed is Havayah from the world to the world,” etc.: that it is drawn from the hidden world to the revealed world.

And this is through “And these words, which I command you today, shall be,” etc.: through mitzvos and Torah one draws revelation into the soul.

(As it says in the Sifrei: “For through this you come to recognize Him Who spoke and the world came into being.” And see what is written in the discourse beginning “And you shall know this day and take to [your heart],” on the matter of “shall live by his faith.”) And first there must be “And you shall love,” etc.,

through which, afterwards, in the Shemoneh Esreh, [come] blessings and drawings-down, “Blessed are You, Havayah,” etc. That is, between the level of acknowledgment and the level of blessing is the level of love, etc.

(And see what is written on the matter of blessing in the discourse beginning “See, I set before you today a blessing,” that it is the level of sight, the level of self-nullification (bittul), etc.;

see there. And see what is written in the discourse beginning “On the eighth day, an assembly,” on the matter of coming from the level of bowing to the level of prostration; and prostration is the level of self-nullification, and it is the level of the Shemoneh Esreh, as is written at the end of the discourse beginning “The heavens are My throne.” Therefore the intermediary between them is the level of love.)

52. Now, in order to come to the level of “And you shall love,” it is through contemplating “Hear, O Israel” and “Blessed be the Name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever.” The explanation: creation

is something from nothing. That is, as is said in “Blessed be the Name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever”: the level of His Malchus (sovereignty), His being called King over them, which is not the level of [His] essence, is what gives life to all the higher worlds. And “Your dominion” is lower than the level of kingship,

for He rules over them against their will, not with their consent; and this is the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) of the attribute of His Malchus, blessed be He. It is “in every generation,” for there are generations that were wicked,

like the generation of the Flood, etc., who did not accept the yoke of His sovereignty willingly, and nevertheless abundant life-force was drawn down to them from the level of “Your dominion,” etc.

Now, all the higher worlds: the lower Gan Eden, which is a delight far beyond this world, so much so that our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Better that he be judged,” etc.,

and the upper Gan Eden, and there are yet more ascents without end; all of them came into being only from the level of His Malchus, blessed be He. Therefore creation is called something from nothing,

for the coming into being of the created beings is from a level that is as nothing and naught, being only the level of a radiance and a glimmer from Him, blessed be He; and this is the level and attribute of His Malchus, blessed be He. And see in Parshas Re’eh, on the verse “After.”

And even this is not invested within them; rather, it stands over them from above, in the manner of an encompassing [light] (makif) (see in Parshas Balak, on the verse “Who has counted”), as in the analogy of the king whose name is called upon them.

But all this is from the standpoint of the order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus) and of the coming into being of the higher worlds. In this world, however, through teshuvah (return) and good deeds, one can draw down a revelation of the very essence of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He.

Furthermore, let him take to heart that in the World to Come it is impossible to ascend except step by step: the hollow of the sling, and Gehinnom, the lower Gan Eden, the River of Fire, the upper Gan Eden, etc., according to what is fitting, because it is from the level of the light that fills [the worlds] (memalei).

But in this world one can change from one extreme to the other at once, in a moment, so much so that by law, one who betroths a woman on condition that he is completely righteous, she is betrothed even if he is completely wicked, for perhaps he had a thought of teshuvah, etc.

This is because there is [here] an illumination of the encompassing light (sovev). For this reason our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “One hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better,” etc. And this is “more than all (merov kol)”: that is, higher than the World to Come, which is called “all” (kol). (See what is written in the discourse beginning “A menorah of gold.”)

Therefore “And you shall love … with all your soul” should be with self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh), and not with the giving over of the body alone. And the purpose is to draw the Infinite One, blessed be He, the encompassing [light] (sovev), down below; and this is through Torah and mitzvos.

And this is [the meaning of] what is written, “And these words, which I”: “I, Who I am,” His very essence, blessed be He; “command you” (metzavcha): an expression of connection, and not from the level of “the Name of the glory of His kingdom,” blessed be He; “today”: specifically, and not tomorrow, in the World to Come, which is

only for receiving their reward. And when he contemplates this, every day they will be in your eyes truly as new, since it is today, in this world, that one can draw down from the level of His essence and being, blessed be He, which is not so tomorrow, in the World to Come, etc. And see in Parshas Pinchas, on the verse “Command …,” etc.

Therefore the mitzvos are called 248 limbs: 248 drawings-down of life-force from the Supreme Will, as in the analogy of a limb that has in it a nerve from the brain, in which the will is invested to move it as one wishes, etc.

And this is “And you shall love”: that Havayah should be your G‑d, a revelation of G‑dliness in the two chambers of your heart: the left chamber, bitterness over his being sunk in the affairs of this world and over his distance from G‑d; and the right chamber, the joy of a mitzvah, etc.:

“Let Israel rejoice in its Maker (be’osav)”: these are the mitzvos, which are invested in [the World of] Asiyah (Action). And see in Sefer Shel Beinonim, at the end of chapter 34. And to the degree that the bitterness over the lack is greater,

then afterwards there will be the advantage of the joy over the revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) that comes through the mitzvos. (And see in the discourse beginning “Binding to the vine,” in the discourse beginning “When you kindle,” and in the discourse beginning “A menorah of gold,” mentioned above.)

And although the revelation is not [present] now, in the time to come there will be the revelation. And this is [the meaning of] what is said, “He sows charities, makes salvations sprout”; and “And Havayah turned (vayisha)”: the 375 lights. And this is

like a person who has a chest full of precious stones and pearls: he is very happy with them even though he does not see them, for they are closed up in the chest.

63. But all this is as it ought to be. When it is not so, however, and the bitterness is over matters of this world, over his lack in “children, life and sustenance,”

and likewise the joy is over his having them in full, this is the level of the exile of the G‑dly spark within the animal soul, “like a ewe before her shearers,” etc.

(See above, on the verse “These are the journeys.”) And about this it is written, “Zion shall be redeemed through justice.” Tziyon is a term for a sign: “I am a sign (ana simana),” etc.

And this is the level of the inner dimension of the heart (pnimiyus halev), and the natural love, and the inner love hidden in the heart of a Jew. (And see in the discourse beginning “When you go out,” and on the verse “Sing and rejoice, daughter of Zion,” etc.)

And this, too, is in exile, and it “shall be redeemed through mishpat,” that is, laws (halachos), as the Targum renders the verse “according to the former manner (kemishpat harishon)”: “according to the former halachah.” And this is as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “The exiles are not gathered in

except in the merit of the Mishnayos, as it is said, ‘Even though they hire (yisnu) among the nations,’” etc. For the Torah is light. (And see on the verse “And these are the laws,” etc., “before them”: to the level of their inner dimension, etc.; see there.)

“And her captives” are the two chambers of the heart, which are truly captive. For the bitterness that should have been over his distance from G‑d is now, on the contrary, over the lacks of this world,

and likewise the joy that should have come from the mitzvos is from the desires of this world; and so they are like actual captives. This is not so with the level of Zion, for this level does not exist in “the one opposite” (le’umas zeh). (And see on the verse “[His eyes are] red (chachlili).”)

And these are redeemed through charity: compassion on the poor. And measure for measure: “Have compassion on us, and put understanding (binah) into our hearts,” and “Binah is the heart,” etc. And see in Iggeres HaKodesh, on “He sows charities,” and on the verse “And the work of charity shall be peace.”

Now, of the level of Zion it is written, “For there Havayah commanded the blessing” (in Psalms, chapter 133), as is written in the Idra Zuta (296b, and the end of 293b)

and in Parshas Tzav [of the Zohar] (31a). Thus the level and rung of blessing mentioned above, which is the inner dimension of the heart that is above the level of love, is the level of Zion.

And see what is written on the inner dimension of the heart in the discourse beginning “On the eighth day he sent away,” that of this it is said, “and before (kedem) You formed me”; and see what is written in the Biur on the verse “One is my dove,” on the matter of “with all your might.”

And so the Arizal, of blessed memory, explained (brought in the book Zohar HaRakia, 122a) that the level of Zion is the level of “From the depths I called You,” etc.

His words are brought in Sefer Hadras Melech, section 156. And see what is written in the discourse beginning “You have captured my heart,” on the meaning of baruch, which has two meanings, etc.; and those two meanings are the matter of baruch and the matter of berachah.

Now, “The Torah comes forth from Chochmah (wisdom)” is the level of baruch; therefore Zion, which is the level of berachah, “shall be redeemed through mishpat,” that is, through the laws of the Torah, etc.

And see what is written in the discourse beginning “Sing and rejoice,” on what is written about Yosef, “And they called out before him, ‘Avrech,’” that this too is the level of baruch and berachah. It is explained in the Likkutei Torah [of the Arizal], Parshas Vayetzei, that Tziyon has the numerical value of Yosef, etc.

And see in Parshas Beshalach (55b), on the verse “When Havayah returns Zion,” and in the commentary of the Ramaz there; and in Parshas Bamidbar (118a), on the verse “May Havayah bless you from Zion.”

And the matter of “and her captives through charity” may be explained according to what is written in the discourse beginning “And I will make [your windows] of kadkod,” on “Charity exalts a nation,” and according to what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “And now, let the power be great,” etc., regarding “Through kindness and truth iniquity is atoned,” etc.;

see there. And see what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “And David made a name,” in Iggeres HaKodesh, and what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “Who has counted,” on the superiority of the drawing-down that comes through occupation with the Torah; and from there will also be understood the matter of “Zion shall be redeemed” specifically “through mishpat,” which is occupation with the Torah.

And “her captives through charity”: see there. And see what is written in the discourse beginning “How goodly,” regarding “and the third [level of] teshuvah,” which is through the Torah, etc.