ביאור ע״פ והניף הכהן אותם

1An explanation of the verse “And the kohen shall wave them.”

2Now, first we will explain the matter of Tohu (chaos) and Tikkun (rectification). The root of the soul of man is from the World of Tikkun: “Let Us make man in Our image.” But the root of the inanimate, the vegetative and the animal is from the level of the World of Tohu, which preceded the World of Tikkun, as is written in the Idra (folio 135, end of side a, and side b)

concerning the World of Tohu: “And because this tikkun (configuration) of Adam was not found, they could not endure,” etc.; see there; and on folio 141b, that the level of the World of Tikkun is the level of Adam (Man).

The matter will be understood from what we see below in man: a quality of existence set apart from all the creatures, in that he rules over all the creatures, as it is written, “And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,” etc.

3The explanation is that man is the level of a partzuf (configuration), comprising the ten Sefiros and all the levels of all the creatures, and he is not in the mode of one single, particular level and attribute alone,

like the other creatures, each of which has a particular attribute, with no admixture at all of anything other than it, as it is written, “and every winged bird after its kind,” etc.,

“living creature after its kind,” etc. As, for example, among birds: the eagle is by nature compassionate toward its young, and the raven is by nature cruel.

Now, in the eagle there is no admixture at all of the cruelty that is the raven’s nature; and likewise, conversely, in the raven there is nothing at all of the eagle’s nature: it has no leaning away from the attribute of cruelty even by a hair’s breadth, such that compassion would show itself in a single raven even once

(as is written in the Gemara, Eruvin 22a [and] Kesubos 49b; and see there in Tosafos). This is because their nature was created in a single attribute, without inter-inclusion of other attributes.

And this is because their root is from the World of Tohu, where the Sefiros were one beneath the other and were not in the mystery of partzufim and lines (kavin), which is the level of inter-inclusion, as [will be explained] below.

So too the angels, who are also called by the name “birds”: “and let birds fly” — “and birds” (ve’of), this is Michael; “fly” (ye’ofef), this is Gavriel.

Michael is the prince of water, Chesed (kindness), love; and Gavriel is the prince of fire, the level of Gevurah (restraint), awe, etc.: each one in a particular attribute. And therefore one angel does not carry out two missions.

But man is not so: by his nature he is composed of many different attributes, a thing and its opposite. (In the words of the Rambam) (in the Introduction to the Commentary on the Mishnah):

“All species of animals and trees have only one action, or two actions, etc.; but man performs many actions that differ from one another,” etc.

Now, besides having [something] of all the Ten Sefiros, three intellectual [faculties] and seven emotive attributes, more than this: in each one of the emotive attributes and the intellectual faculties he is also comprised of the other attributes. For example, in his cruelty compassion is included,

like a father who strikes his son: this striking is cruelty, yet included in it are compassion and love, for he strikes him only because of his love and pity for him, as it is written, “He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him early.”

And so too, in the same way, with the other attributes. He also includes [something] of the levels of the inanimate, the vegetative and the animal (both in his body, for the hair is the level of the vegetative, etc.; and in his soul, which includes a spiritual inanimate, vegetative and animal: the letters are the level of the inanimate, and the emotive attributes the level of the vegetative, etc.

And see what is written in Parshas Bereishis on the verse “And He formed,” on the matter that the body of man was at first inanimate, which is not so of the body of animals, etc.; and this is because man includes [everything] from the speaking down to the inanimate). And therefore man is called a small world.

All this is because he was created in the image and likeness of Above, the Supernal Adam (Adam dele’eila), which is the level of a partzuf; and a partzuf is a binding together of the Ten Sefiros, with each Sefirah comprised of ten Sefiros, as is known [regarding] the difference between a point (nekudah), a Sefirah and a partzuf

(in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 29, Sha’ar HaPartzufim, chapter 7, he wrote: “For a point is the Asiyah within the Sefirah; a Sefirah is the level of the Sefirah complete with the Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah within it; and a partzuf is a binding of ten Sefiros, each Sefirah of them complete with Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.” End of quote.)

There is also in a partzuf the level of the intellect (mochin), Chochmah, Binah and Daas, which come with changes: sometimes the state of gadlus (maturity), and at times katnus (immaturity). And because

man below, too, was made “in the image of G‑d,” therefore all the aspects mentioned above are in him, as well as the aspects of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) and the outer dimension (chitzoniyus).

4And none of these are in the other creatures, except for man, who was created in the image of G‑d, which is the level of the Supernal Adam, who includes everything.

And of the Chariot, too, it is written, “and the face of a man for the four of them,” small faces and large faces. And therefore it is said of man, “And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens,” etc.:

for just as the Supernal Adam — “upon the likeness of the throne, a likeness like the appearance of a man upon it from above” — rules over all four Chayos (living beings) of the Chariot, which include all the particular living creatures, etc.,

so man, since he was made in the image of G‑d and also includes the levels of the inanimate, vegetative and animal, therefore rules and has dominion over them all. (And see the Pardes, Sha’ar 31, chapter 8; and the Shelah, in the Introduction, in [the section] Beis Yisrael.)

52. The reason for all this — why man specifically comes with inter-inclusion and as a partzuf, and not the other living creatures — is that the root of man

is from the World of Tikkun, while the root of the inanimate, the vegetative and the animal is from the World of Tohu, which preceded the level of Tikkun, as mentioned above. For the shattering of the vessels of Tohu came about because there was an abundance of light, and the vessel was too small to contain [it].

And therefore the vessels shattered and fell down into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, and the light withdrew upward. And therefore afterwards the World of Tikkun was made: a lessening of the light and an increase of the vessels.

Now, what is the meaning of an abundance of light? It is the revelation of the light in strength and in utmost intensity (as is explained elsewhere, in the explanation on the verse “Many waters,” etc., “the waters of Noach”).

Therefore the seven attributes of Tohu were one beneath the other, without any inter-inclusion of one with another at all. Since the light and the attribute came in revelation and in intensity, it did not join with the attribute opposite it, and they were branches that part from one another.

By way of analogy below, our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “A person should always be soft as a reed” — this is an example of the World of Tikkun — “and not be hard as a cedar,” which is the level of the World of Tohu.

By way of analogy, a man who is hard in his attributes, without bending from them at all. So too, that light and attribute came with force and with the revelation of that attribute;

therefore it was not included with any other attribute at all, because of the abundant revelation of that attribute. And this is called an abundance of light: that each one [stands] on its own ground, of precisely that attribute, without inter-inclusion with its opposite.

And therefore the vessels could not bear the great and strong light, and they shattered and fell into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, and the lights withdrew upward, remaining above in a state of concealment.

The World of Tikkun, however, is a lessening of the light; that is, the attribute does not come with intensity, but rather like “soft as a reed,” which can bend from its attribute.

6Therefore it is in the mode of lines (kavin) and of the inter-inclusion of the attributes one with another: Chesed comprised of Gevurah, and Gevurah of Chesed. And this is [why] Tikkun is the level of Adam, which is not so in Tohu, as mentioned above in the name of the Zohar.

That is, Adam is the level of a partzuf, which is the inter-inclusion of the Ten Sefiros together, with all the Ten Sefiros also comprised of all of them; and this inter-inclusion comes to be specifically in the World of Tikkun, for the reason mentioned above.

7And therefore man below, too, since his root is from Tikkun, comprises all the attributes, and each attribute also has in it an inter-inclusion of all of them.

But the inanimate, vegetative and animal, whose root is drawn from the Sefiros of Tohu, in which there was no inter-inclusion — therefore, likewise, in the nature of the inanimate, vegetative and animal, each animal has a particular attribute, with no other attribute in it at all, as mentioned above.

Now, nevertheless, the level of Tohu comes first and is higher above in its root than the level of Tikkun (as is written in Iggeres HaKodesh, near its end, that they are from [the Name] Sag in the inner dimension of Adam Kadmon, whereas Tikkun, through [the Name] Mah, issues from the forehead, a mere glimmer, etc.; and see on this the Ramaz, at the beginning of Parshas Vayeshev, in the passage beginning “The wisdom of the poor man,” and at the end of Parshas Korach).

Yet even so, by virtue of the inter-inclusion mentioned above, Tikkun has a lofty superiority that is not in the level of Tohu. For in Tikkun there is a revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) that is not in Tohu. And this is as is written in the Zohar: “The Holy One, blessed be He, does not dwell

except in a complete place.” The meaning: the Holy One, blessed be He, is the essence of the Emanator, “You are the perfection of all,” and He dwells only in a complete place, that is, when there is inter-inclusion below and a binding and joining of the Ten Sefiros together;

then the Infinite Light, “the perfection of all,” which is above the Ten Sefiros, “and He is not of any of these attributes at all,” will dwell in them.

Whereas when each attribute is by itself, this is not a complete place at all, such that there would be an indwelling of “the perfection of all,” etc.

And therefore in Tikkun, through the inter-inclusion in the level of the partzuf of the Supernal Adam, the indwelling of the Infinite Light is drawn down from “the perfection of all,” which is not so in the World of Tohu. And this is the additional and immense superiority of the level of Adam in Tikkun over the World of Tohu

(and this is [the meaning of] what is written, “Bless us, our Father, all of us as one, with the light of Your countenance,” etc.; and as we find at the Giving of the Torah: “And Israel encamped” in unity, and then the Torah was given. And see what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “Your teeth are like a flock of ewes”; and see what is written elsewhere, in the discourse beginning “And Havayah said, ‘Behold, they are one people,’” etc.,

that in the place of the inter-inclusion in holiness one draws down the light from the level of Akudim, [bound] in one vessel, and this is the level of “the perfection of all” that is above Tohu. For the World of Tohu is from the level of Nekudim, and the World of Akudim is the level of ta’amim; and in the matter of ta’amim, nekudos, tagin, osiyos (cantillation notes, vowels, crowns and letters), the ta’amim are in Keser and the nekudos in Chochmah, etc., as is explained elsewhere):

83. Now, once the illumination of the Infinite Light that is above the Ten Sefiros dwells in the level of Tikkun, through this the attributes and the Sefiros can afterwards be included [in one another] in a state of actual nullification (bittul) of [their] existence, more than before, when the inter-inclusion was only because of the weakening of the revelation of the light, as in “soft as a reed,” etc.,

but not the level of the essence of self-nullification itself. However, when there is openly revealed upon them the revelation of the Infinite Light, “the perfection of all,” before which all the attributes are as nothing —

for as His name, so is He: He is not in the category of an attribute, G‑d forbid, but higher and higher without end, even above the level of Chochmah, Binah and Daas, the source of the attributes —

9then the attributes become one and are actually nullified, like a candle before a torch, in His light, may He be blessed, that shines upon them, and they occupy no place at all.

And this is the meaning of “He makes peace in His heights”: between the prince of water and the prince of fire; as is written in Iggeres HaKodesh on the verse “And the work of righteousness shall be peace,” etc.;

see there. (And this inter-inclusion is the level of actual, true self-nullification, which is above the level of the nullification in the manner of “like a reed,” etc.; so much so that even when the attributes were in an abundance of light, they were nullified and included [in one another],

as in the World of Akudim, where there was certainly an abundance of light, more than in Nekudim, and yet there was no shattering of the vessels there, G‑d forbid. That is because of their nearness to the Infinite Light, through which they are in a state of true self-nullification, etc., and true inter-inclusion, to the point that they are bound in one vessel.

And from this level of self-nullification [something] is drawn afterward into the World of Tikkun as well, through the indwelling of the Infinite Light that is drawn into the World of Tikkun, through which the true self-nullification is drawn into them, etc. And see what is written in the explanation on the verse “You shall keep My Shabbosos,” on the matter of the lower Shabbos,

which is the ascent of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah into Atzilus, the nullification of the yesh (something); and the upper Shabbos is, in the same way, in Atzilus too: the level of true self-nullification in the level of ayin (nothing), the source of Chochmah, etc. And this, too, is as written [here]: that through the revelation of the Infinite Light in the World of Tikkun a higher self-nullification is drawn down, etc.).

And this is the meaning of “Within is the Name Mah, which is the path of Atzilus, and its watering,” etc.: that is, the indwelling of the Infinite Light that dwells in the Name Mah of Chochmah, from the level of “the perfection of all,” whereby all the lights and attributes are nullified in their existence before the revelation of the Infinite Light.

And therefore it is “the path of Atzilus,” which binds and joins all the lights and Sefiros of Atzilus, so that they are joined in complete and true inter-inclusion

(and perhaps this is the meaning of what is written in Likkutei HaShas from the Arizal, of blessed memory, on the explanation of “bringing peace between a man and his fellow”: that is, the gazing face into face between “a man” and “his fellow,” which is [the gazing of] Arich into Z’eir.

The point is that relative to Arich Anpin, the attributes of Atzilus are called Z’eir Anpin, for “Yaakov is small”; but “long-suffering (erech apayim) and great in kindness” means that the attributes are without limit, as is explained in the discourse beginning “And it was when Pharaoh sent” and at the end of the discourse beginning “On the twenty-fifth of Kislev.”

And this is also the matter of the difference between Gedulah (greatness) and Chesed, as is explained elsewhere. It follows that in Keser Elyon (the Supreme Crown) the attributes are in a state of greatness and strength, and even so they are in utmost inter-inclusion; and that is from the intensity of the self-nullification before the Infinite One, blessed be He, as mentioned above regarding Akudim.

And this is [the meaning of] “Keser Elyon,” etc., “within is the Name Mah,” etc., as is explained elsewhere, in the explanation on the verse “Who has counted the dust of Yaakov” and on the verse “Show me your appearance.” And therefore Keser is called Adam; and in the Pardes, under the entry Adam, [it is written] that Keser is called Adam Kadmon; that is,

because Adam Kadmon is the Keser of Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah as a whole, etc. And when [something] of this level is drawn also into Z’eir Anpin of Atzilus, as mentioned above, that through the inter-inclusion [something] of the level of “the perfection of all” is drawn and dwells in it — this is the meaning of “bringing peace between a man and his fellow.”

And perhaps this is also the meaning and the matter of “What is His name, and what is His son’s name”: that is, two levels of Mah, which are the two levels of Adam mentioned above.

And these are the two levels of inter-inclusion mentioned above: the first through the level of “soft as a reed”; the second through the revelation of the Infinite Light from “the perfection of all”: “Mah is His name,” “within is the Name Mah.”

And see the Zohar, Balak, folio 191b, and the Mikdash Melech there, and the Pardes, under the entry Mah, which explains “What (mah) is His name” as supernal Chochmah, etc.; and as is explained also in the discourse beginning “To understand the explanation of the matter of ‘The Patriarchs are themselves the Chariot.’”

It can be said that nevertheless the source of the drawing down is from the level of Keser, except that it is through Chochmah, as is known from the matter of the union of Abba and Imma in the recital of the Shema, where the root of the drawing down is from higher and higher, etc. Now, it is explained in Likkutei HaShas there, in the name of the Idra Rabba, that at the time when Arich gazes into Z’eir Anpin, it brings about a union between Z’eir Anpin and Nukva.

And this is [why] from “bringing peace between a man and his fellow” comes the eating of fruits in this world, according to what is written in the Zohar, in Parshas Beha’aloscha, folio 156a: “Because this principal,” etc., “and therefore its fruit,” etc.; and see there in the Mikdash Melech.

And this is the meaning of “Adam” in Chronicles, with a large alef: for large letters have their root in the level of Keser, and through the illumination of Keser the union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva is drawn down. And this is what is written in Parshas Metzora, folio 53b: “Adam — this is the perfection of all.”

And this is [why] the Mishnah lists, “These are the things whose fruits a person eats in this world, etc.: honoring father and mother, acts of kindness, and bringing peace, etc.; and the study of Torah is equal to them all.” That is because through all these one draws the light of Arich Anpin into Z’eir Anpin by way of Abba and Imma, as mentioned above regarding “Mah is His name,” etc.

And the matter of acts of kindness will be understood from what is explained elsewhere on the meaning of “G‑d Most High, who bestows good kindnesses.” And see also what is written on the verse “And I will betroth you to Me forever,” in the name of the Zohar, on the meaning of “forever”; and see what is written in the discourse beginning “Havayah — His adversaries shall be shattered,” how through this drawing down from Arich Anpin all the judgments are sweetened; and see the Reishis Chochmah, chapter 12 of Sha’ar HaAhavah, on the matter of

“For the king trusts in Havayah, and through the kindness of the Most High he shall not falter,” etc. And see what is written in the discourse beginning “Now, to understand the root of the matter of the Giving of the Torah,” in Parshas Yisro, concerning David, “with two, and it did not count against him.” And see further on the matter of “eating their fruits in this world” in Iggeres HaKodesh, in the discourse beginning “And He put on righteousness as a coat of mail.”)

And from this the meaning of “Let Us make man,” etc., “and let them have dominion over the fish,” etc., will be understood: for man is from the level of Tikkun, in which there is the indwelling of the Infinite Light and also the inter-inclusion of them all, as mentioned above.

And therefore specifically man can have dominion and rule over them all (and see the Zohar, vol. 2, folio 94, end of side b; vol. 3, folio 48a).

(Now, therefore man also has free choice, as the Rambam writes in chapter 5 of the Laws of Teshuvah, that of this it is said, “Behold, man has become like one of us.”

“That is to say: behold, this species of man is unique in the world, and there is no second species like it in this respect, that he of himself knows good and evil and does whatever he desires,” etc.; see there.

And this is as is explained elsewhere, that this choice was taken from a very high level, which is the level of dominion; for “sovereignty and dominion belong to the One who lives forever,” in the manner of “when it arose in His simple will,” etc., and none can hold back His hand. And in the same way is the power of choice given to man, so that there is none who can hold back his hand.

However, because this lofty level and quality descended and was clothed below in the physical body and in the animal soul, which are composed of good and evil, therefore this dominion can also choose evil, G‑d forbid, may G‑d protect us. And this is [the meaning of] “And He formed,” etc., “and He breathed into his nostrils,” etc.: many contractions, until this power of choice and dominion descended below.

But the root of this level was taken from a very high place (and see the Pardes, Sha’ar 4, chapter 9). And the reason this choice and dominion were given to man is that the root of the level of Adam is very exalted, as mentioned above.

And therefore: “And now, Israel, what does Havayah your G‑d ask of you, but to fear,” etc.; and as the Rambam writes there, “since the choice is in our hands,” etc.)

And therefore it is stated in the books that the pulse in man indicates the illumination of the Infinite Light within him; as is written in the Likkutei Torah of the Arizal, in Ta’amei HaMitzvos, Parshas Vayeira, that the pulse is the back (achorayim) of Abba, and the life-force within it is the Infinite Light.

For the Infinite Light is clothed in Chochmah, and the beating is the mode of “running and returning” (ratzo vashov), that is, the level of “reaching and not reaching” of Chochmah, because the Infinite Light dwells in Chochmah:

104. And from this the matter will also be understood of man’s being nourished and receiving life-force from foods, which are the inanimate, vegetative and animal; and also that through this he rectifies and elevates them.

That is, because man is from the level of Tikkun, where, through the inter-inclusion, the Infinite Light, “the perfection of all,” dwells, as mentioned above, for the Infinite Light dwells in Chochmah.

11And therefore man, through his blessing in which he blesses, “Blessed are You, Havayah,” can draw down a revelation of the Infinite Light in Chochmah — and “through Chochmah they are refined” — to refine the inanimate, vegetative and animal, of which

“that which comes forth from the mouth of Havayah” in the food has its root in the World of Tohu; only, because of the shattering of the vessels, the vessels fell down into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, and the lights withdrew upward into the Supernal Emanator.

However, after the refinement and elevation of the food to the level of Tikkun through the blessing, through this they draw near to their own lights of Tohu that withdrew upward, and the lights of Tohu are revealed in them and become united with them.

As, by way of analogy, the soul of man, which departs from the body because of death, may G‑d protect us, and is bound up in the bond of life in Gan Eden; and when the Resurrection of the Dead comes and the body is elevated, the soul that was in Gan Eden will be revealed and clothed in it, etc.

So too the vessels of Tohu, which died and fell into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah: after they are rectified and included in the level of Tikkun, their soul, that is, the lights of Tohu, is revealed and drawn into them.

12It follows that through this a great abundance of light is added to the level of Tikkun, which is man. For the lights of Tohu that withdrew and were included in the essence of the Emanator are much higher than the lights of Tikkun, as mentioned above; only, because of the intensity and strength of the light, the vessel could not contain [it], etc.

But after the vessels have been refined and included in Tikkun, which is in the mode of inter-inclusion, then through this the Adam of Tikkun will live, in that a light greater than the Adam of Tikkun is revealed in him, etc.,

as mentioned above (for it is from Sag in the inner dimension of Adam Kadmon, etc.; and so both advantages are found included in Tikkun: there will be great lights, as in Tohu, and even so it will be in a state of inter-inclusion, through the illumination of the Infinite Light, “the perfection of all,” etc., something like the level of Akudim, etc.).

And with this the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, will be understood (Berachos 55a, on the verse “And he said to me, ‘This is the table that is before Havayah,’” in Ezekiel 41:22):

“It opens with the altar and concludes with the table: as long as the Holy Temple stood, the altar atoned for Israel; and now a person’s table atones for him.”

For the matter of the sacrifices is the elevation of the soul of the animal through the kohen, who is the Chesed of Z’eir Anpin, from the World of Tikkun, and “the right hand draws near.”

And therefore, when he blesses, slaughters it and offers it upon the altar, he refines the spirit of the animal that fell in the shattering of the vessels and elevates it to its root, which is from the face of the ox in the Chariot, until it is included in the Malchus of Atzilus; and this is called the eating of the altar.

The altar is the Malchus of Atzilus. And through this the lights of Tohu are revealed; and therefore the angels derive pleasure from the sacrifices, in the revelation of the lights of Tohu, which is their root. And this is what is written in the holy Zohar (Parshas Pinchas, folio 241a): “And they derive pleasure from their foundation and root,” as is brought in Iggeres HaKodesh, at the end of the discourse beginning “He and His life-forces.”

And this is [the meaning of] “a pleasing fragrance (re’ach nicho’ach) to Havayah”: through the fragrance, which is the raising of mayin nukvin (feminine waters) from the refinement of the animal soul, nicho’ach is drawn down — a term [meaning] nachis darga (“a level descended”) — and it is a drawing down to Havayah;

that is, a new Havayah is made. For in the Ten Sefiros of Tohu, too, there is the Name Havayah, and it is revealed and drawn into the Ten Sefiros of Tikkun, into the level of the Name Havayah of Tikkun.

13And therefore the altar atones for man, who is from the level of Tikkun, through drawing down “a pleasing fragrance to Havayah,” etc. So too, now, a person’s table atones for him,

through his eating with a blessing and with intention, through which he too refines the inanimate, vegetative and animal, raises mayin nukvin from the shattering of the vessels, and draws down a revelation of the lights of Tohu.

But this is through his first praying, to be nullified to Him, may He be blessed; for this is the level of the Adam of Tikkun, whose superiority is the level of

self-nullification: Adam has the numerical value of Mah (45). And then the table is called “a person’s (Adam’s) table,” after the pattern above, where the level of the Malchus of Atzilus, which refines the sparks, is called a table for the Supernal Adam, Z’eir Anpin of Atzilus.

And therefore, through this, it atones for him like the altar, etc. (And see the Zohar, Parshas Terumah, folio 153, end of side b, and folio 133a; and see the Raaya Mehemna, Parshas Ekev, folio 271, end of side b, on the matter of “this is the table”; and see what is written in Parshas Naso, in the discourse beginning “So shall you bless,” etc.):

14Now we will come to the matter of the waving of the bread upon the two lambs. But first let us introduce the matter of the two lambs of the daily offerings (temidin), which are every day.

For it is stated in Pri Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 5, chapter 3, on the matter of the daily burnt-offering (olas hatamid), that every burnt-offering is the level of Leah, who is higher, and there are all the harsh judgments; and therefore the daily burnt-offering comes corresponding to her, to sweeten her judgment.

15And see the Ramaz at the beginning of Parshas Tzav, who asks: but the main union of the morning is that of Yaakov and Rachel! And he explains that nevertheless a sweetening of the judgments of Leah is also needed, etc.; see there.

And the explanation of the matter of the union of Yaakov with Rachel and with Leah, and that for this the two daily offerings come, to sweeten the judgments, etc.: for it is written, “like a ewe (rachel) before her shearers she is mute”; and a rachel is a lamb (keves), and it is the level of Malchus, which is likened to a ewe.

For we find that the ewe has the nature of submission more than all the animals. Also, in everyone who sees it, it arouses compassion for itself, and its voice is a voice that arouses compassion.

And also, it lets itself be shorn and does not let its voice be heard, whereas all the animals do not keep quiet and do not rest when [people] come to shear them

(and all this is the level of submission and self-nullification, the level of “and let my soul be as dust to all,” as is explained elsewhere, in the discourse beginning “If you do not know”).

And the counterpart of this is in the Shechinah, which descends to bestow upon Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah and gives life even to the external forces (chitzonim), and bears this, their nurture being from the hairs; and this is the meaning of “before her shearers she is mute,” and as is explained on the verse “These are the journeys of the children of Israel,” etc.

And in order to sweeten the judgments of the two Nukvin, Leah and Rachel, in which the external forces take hold, it is said, “The one lamb you shall make (ta’aseh) in the morning”; ta’aseh is a term for rectification (tikkun),

as in “and she shall do (ve’asesah) her nails.” And this rectification is through the daily burnt-offering, in which the physical lamb, whose root is from the World of Tohu, is offered upon the altar.

And by this one raises mayin nukvin (feminine waters) from the 288 sparks, and through this mayin duchrin (masculine waters) descend and are drawn down from above. And this is the matter of the fire above, “a lion that consumes the offerings”: aryeh (lion) has the letters of re’iyah (sight), which is the illumination of the Name Mah from Chochmah, which refines the mayin nukvin; and through this the Gevuros of Nukva are sweetened.

16And this is the matter of the union of Yaakov and Rachel, and likewise the union of Leah: for every Nukva needs sweetening to come from the masculine (Dechura), that is, the level of Yaakov, Z’eir Anpin of Atzilus.

The point is that Rachel is the letters of speech, and Leah is the letters of thought. And therefore both are called Nukva, for letters are the last level; only, relative to Rachel, which is speech, the revealed world (alma de’isgalya), Leah, which is thought, is called the concealed world (alma de’iskasya);

but nevertheless thought, too, is the level of letters, etc. Now, the division of the voice and the breath in pronunciation through the five places of articulation of the mouth is through the five Gevuros, Mantzepach, which divide the voice and the breath into parts, etc.

And this is [why] the structure of the Nukva, the letters, is from the Gevuros. And so it is also with the letters of thought, which also come with division,

like the letters of speech, through the five Gevuros, Mantzepach, of Imma, etc. (And see what is written on the verse “And they shall speak of Your might, to make known to the children of men His mighty acts,” etc., and in the discourse beginning “Ado-nai, open my lips.”)

Now, through the chain of descent of the Gevuros comes the nurture of the external forces, which are the harsh judgments; and their nurture is from the waste of the Gevuros of holiness (and see what is written on this matter in the discourse beginning “And let them take to you a heifer,” in Parshas Chukas).

But through Yaakov, who is the level of “Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,” the drawing down of the Infinite Light that dwells in Chochmah Ila’ah (the higher Chochmah), and from higher and higher, etc. —

through this the judgments and the Gevuros are sweetened, and there will not be the level of “her shearers,” separating the hairs and the letters into a yesh (something), a separate thing, etc.; and that is through the revelation of the self-nullification from the level of Chochmah Ila’ah, etc.

17And this is what is stated in Mishnas Chassidim: “The one lamb, Yaakov, you shall make in the morning,” etc.; for Yaakov is the one who draws the level of keves (lamb) from its source and root,

as will come shortly regarding “And the lambs (kesavim) Yaakov separated”: that he draws from the level of Keser and Chochmah into Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes of Z’eir Anpin; and this is the matter of keves.

And therefore, through this drawing down, in which he draws this revelation into the letters of thought and speech, the harsh judgments that take hold in the combinations of the letters, between one combination and the next, etc., are sweetened

(and see what is written on this matter in Parshas Pinchas, on the verse “The one lamb,” etc. And it is further explained regarding Yaakov, “then shall break forth,” in the discourse beginning “To understand the matter of ‘Who gladdens the groom and the bride,’” in Parshas Tzav.

And see what is written further on the matter of sweetening the judgments of Leah in the explanation on the verse “I have come into My garden,” etc. And in [Midrash] Rabbah the matter of “The one lamb you shall make in the morning, and the second lamb,” etc., is mentioned in Parshas Vayechi, section 99, on “in the morning he shall devour the prey”;

Naso, section 14, folio 261d; Shir HaShirim Rabbah, at the end of [the passage on] “To my mare”; in Esther, on the verse “Also Vashti”; Zohar, Part I, folio 133a; folio 229b; folio 244a; Part III, folio 242a; folio 226b, in the Raaya Mehemna. And see the Likkutei Torah of the Arizal, Parshas Kedoshim, in the passage beginning “The prohibition of shaatnez.”

And it is brought in the Mikdash Melech, Parshas Kedoshim, on folio 86b, how through the offering of the lambs one arouses from the supernal Daas of the mazala of Arich, which unites Abba and Imma; and from there strength is added to Z’eir, and then he unites with Malchus. And this is the meaning of “And Havayah turned to Hevel and to his offering,” etc.):

185. And this is the meaning of “And the lambs (kesavim) Yaakov separated.” Now, almost everywhere in the Torah it says keves, with the beis before the shin, but here it says kesavim, with the shin before the beis; and it is mentioned again there, in Parshas Vayetzei, concerning Lavan’s sheep.

19The matter will be understood by first introducing what is written, that Abba and Imma clothe the arms of Arich Anpin; as is written also in Pri Etz Chaim on the explanation of “We were slaves to Pharaoh, and Havayah our G‑d brought us out”: Abba and Imma, who clothed the arms of Arich, as is explained elsewhere.

And it is also stated in Etz Chaim that Abba and Imma draw nurture from the mazalos of Arich Anpin: Abba draws from the eighth mazal, and Imma from the thirteenth mazal.

20And the mazalos are only the level of hairs. The point is that the term “nurture” (yenikah) is like, by way of analogy, an infant that nurses from its mother’s breasts:

the very existence of the infant has already come into being from its mother’s womb, and its nursing from its mother’s breasts brings about growth and increase in the infant’s limbs.

So too the meaning and matter of “Abba draws nurture from the eighth mazal”: after Abba has already been emanated from the light of the Emanator, the growth and increase in the light of Abba come about through its drawing nurture from the eighth mazal.

21And the growth is to be in the state of a partzuf and of mature mochin (mochin degadlus); and then it can bestow below, so that its Netzach, Hod and Yesod become mochin for Z’eir Anpin, and from Z’eir Anpin to Nukva, the lower Chochmah, the Malchus of Atzilus, to give life to Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.

And if it did not have this growth into the state of a partzuf and mature mochin, it could not bestow below through the descents of the levels;

only after it draws nurture from the eighth mazal, which comes from Chochmah Stima’ah (the hidden Chochmah), as is written in the Idra Zuta, folio 292a, and from there the light of Abba grows —

then it can bestow below. And as is known, specifically one who is greater in wisdom is the one who can explain the concept even to others; that is because the higher a thing is, the lower it can bend down and descend.

And therefore, after Abba draws nurture from the mazal that is drawn from Chochmah Stima’ah, which is a very high level, then it can bestow below.

But before this, even though Abba and Imma clothe the arms of Arich Anpin, which are Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes of Keser, they did not yet have this growth, and they could not bestow the mochin below to Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, etc.;

rather, this growth comes about after it receives from Chochmah Stima’ah, which is far above the level of Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes of Keser. (And see what is written in the explanation on the verse “These are the journeys” mentioned above, regarding the explanation of “G‑d Most High, who bestows good kindnesses,” etc.

And see what is written on the verse “Go forth (lech lecha)”: that Av-ram (“exalted father”) is Chochmah Ila’ah, and that its being drawn and descending to bestow below is through the light of Keser being drawn into it, etc.; see there. And see what is written in the explanation on the verse “Moshe would speak,” on the matter of the three worlds that issue from the first tikkun.)

Now, even so, the nurture from the mazalos, although it is drawn from a high place, from Chochmah Stima’ah, is nevertheless drawn in the mode and manner of an external flow.

Whereas Abba and Imma’s clothing of the Chesed and Gevurah of Arich Anpin comes into them in an inward manner; for the clothing in which one clothes another is a closeness to, and a grasping of, the very essence and being of that which is clothed in it.

22As, by way of analogy, the clothing of the intellect in the emotive attributes: the very being of the intellect is grasped and clothed in the attribute, and they become one. So too Abba and Imma’s clothing of the Chesed and Gevurah of Arich Anpin: this clothing is, by way of analogy, like the clothing of the will in the intellect, which also becomes one with the intellect;

as, for example, because of his will for some thing, an intellectual reason for that thing comes into being for him. And as it is written, “And Havayah smelled the pleasing fragrance, and said,” etc., “I will not again,” etc., “for the inclination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.”

For this argument, that the inclination of man’s heart is evil, from which at first guilt was drawn, afterwards gave rise to a good reason for merit; and that which argues for guilt argues for merit.

And that is through the revelation of the supernal will in Chochmah, which inclines the Chochmah toward Chesed, in accordance with the level of the will, which is Arich Anpin, “and abundant in kindness,” etc. And this is the level of clothing, in which the very essence of the attributes that are in Keser is clothed in Abba and Imma.

Whereas the nurture from the mazalos is not clothing, only the level of nurture from the mazalos; and this nurture, too, is drawn only through the level of hairs alone.

23The point is that from the Chesed and Gevurah of Arich Anpin, which are the seven lower [Sefiros] of Arich Anpin, the flow can come into Abba and Imma in the mode of actual clothing, from the very essence of Chesed and Gevurah, and in the mode of the order of the chain of descent of cause and effect; and from them came into being the essential being of

Abba and Imma. However, the growth and increase, to the point that through this it can bestow below, are drawn from a higher place, that is, from Chochmah Stima’ah, and it is above the order of the chain of descent of cause and effect; and therefore clothing does not apply, and it is also drawn only by way of the level of hairs, etc.

(And see what is written in the book Mevo She’arim, Sha’ar 3, Part 2, end of chapter 5, and these are his words: “Like the second head of Arich, which is clothed in the thirteen tikkunei dikna and not in the limbs, because of its great concealment.” End of quote. And that is the level of ayin (nothing), of which it is said, “And Chochmah is found from ayin (nothing)”; and it is not clothed in the limbs, which are the Chesed and Gevurah of Arich, but only in the thirteen tikkunei dikna, which are the mazalos, etc.)

And this is the matter of kesev, with the shin before the beis: the letter kaf is the level of Keser, and the shin that precedes the beis is the Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes of Arich, the attributes that are in Keser, from which the beis is drawn, that is, Abba and Imma, the “two companions,” who clothe the Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes of Arich Anpin, as mentioned above.

24Now, seemingly there are three mochin, Chochmah, Binah and Daas; so why is only beis mentioned, which is only Chochmah and Binah?

But the point is as is written in Sefer Yetzirah, “ten and not eleven”: although with Daas they are eleven, when Keser is counted Daas is not counted, for Daas is not reckoned as a Sefirah in its own right;

rather, it is an intermediary level, to unite and join Chochmah and Binah. So too, the Daas that extends into the emotive attributes is what binds the intellect to the attributes, and it is not reckoned as a level in its own right; and it is the inner dimension of the attributes and their life-force, etc. And all this is the matter of kesev, with the shin before the beis.

However, afterwards Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes of Z’eir Anpin are drawn down from Chochmah and Binah, and then it is called keves, with the beis before the shin; for the shin is Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes of Z’eir Anpin, which receive and are drawn from Chochmah and Binah, the level of beis, as mentioned above

(and this is the matter of the attributes that are drawn from the intellect; whereas the shin of kesev is the supernal attributes that are above the intellect, as is known from the matter of “mountains of darkness” and “mountains of light.” And see what is written on the verse “Your teeth are like a flock of ewes,” etc.; and see what is written in the explanation on the verse “Many waters,” etc.,

“if a man would give,” on the matter of the two levels of attributes mentioned above; and see what is written in the discourse beginning “To understand the explanation of the matter of ‘The Patriarchs are themselves the Chariot,’” on the matter of “Z’eir Anpin is attached to and hangs upon Atika”; and see what is written on this in the explanation on the verse “Set me as a seal”).

And this is made and drawn down through Yaakov, who is the middle bar, the central line, which draws from Keser and Chochmah into Z’eir Anpin, as is written in the Zohar, Terumah, folio 175b.

And this is [the meaning of] “And the lambs (kesavim) Yaakov separated”: that which was shin before beis, that is, as it was before the flow of Chochmah and Binah down into Z’eir Anpin, when Chochmah and Binah received from Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes of Arich —

Yaakov drew from this level also into the world of separation; that is, that the mochin be drawn from Chochmah and Binah to Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes of Z’eir Anpin, and it will be keves, in which the shin, Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes of Z’eir Anpin, will receive from Chochmah and Binah, the beis, which receives from the kaf, Keser, etc.

25And the meaning of “separated” is that from this it comes about that there are two levels, Leah and Rachel; and of this it is said, “The one lamb you shall make in the morning, and the second lamb,” etc.; and this is called the union of Yaakov and Rachel,

and likewise with Leah. And the matter of this drawing down is that the supernal self-nullification be drawn down below as well, in the world of separation; and this is “And the lambs (kesavim) he separated,” etc.

And that is through the coming about of the level of keves, in which the illumination of Keser and the mochin of Abba and Imma are drawn into Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes of Z’eir Anpin, and from Z’eir Anpin to Rachel, the source of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, as mentioned above.

26However, the matter of the waving of the two lambs on Shavuos is [raising them] to their root and source, to the level of kesavim; that is, that the level of keves, in which the shin is below the beis, be elevated to its root and source, the level of kesev, in which the shin is before the beis;

that is, that Z’eir Anpin be elevated to its root and source, Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes of Arich, which are above Chochmah and Binah. And this is [the meaning of] “And the kohen shall wave them,” etc., “before Havayah”: above Chochmah, etc.

27Now, when the shin is below the beis, there is a need to sweeten the judgments of Leah and Rachel, so that there be no nurture of the external forces from the level of the shin, G‑d forbid, that is, from the attributes; as is mentioned in the Zohar at the beginning of Parshas Bereishis, regarding “The letter shin entered,” etc.: “He said to it: You are fitting, and you are good, and you are true;

but since the letters of falsehood take you to be with them,” and then it is called sheker (falsehood); see there. And this is the matter of the nurture of the external forces from the supernal attributes of the letter shin; and see the Zohar HaRakia there.

(And see the Zohar, Parshas Mikeitz, folio 204a, and Parshas Terumah, folio 148b; and see Pri Etz Chaim on the intention of Kabbalas Shabbos.) And therefore the daily offering is brought in the mode of an arousal of compassion, so that the light be drawn only into holiness, etc.:

28But when the level of keves is waved to its root, the level of Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes of Arich, which is called kesev, there the external forces have no dominion or nurture at all

(and it can be said that there is an allusion to this in the verse, in what is written in Parshas Emor, “An ox or a kesev,” etc., and afterwards it is said, “And he shall wave them,” etc.; that is, the waving is to the level of kesev, in which the shin precedes the beis, etc.

Now, it can be said that keves is the conduct of the shin, the attributes, through the mochin, and that is in the manner of “soft as a reed,” the World of Tikkun; whereas kesev, with the shin before the beis, is the attributes that are above the intellect, and they are in the mode of the strength of the attributes, and even so [they are] Tikkun and inter-inclusion, like the matter of Akudim, in one vessel, etc., as mentioned above):

296. But now, the waving of the two lambs was specifically together with the two loaves; and it is stated in the Mishnah (chapter 5 of Menachos): “He places the two loaves on top of the two lambs,” etc.

And to understand why the bread was on top, since the level of the animal is more honored in quality than the vegetative: the point is that just as man, although he is a speaking [being] and much higher than the inanimate, vegetative and animal, nevertheless in their root the inanimate, vegetative and animal were taken from a level higher than man,

that is, the matter of the World of Tohu, which is higher than the World of Tikkun; only they fell lower than man through the shattering of the vessels, and therefore man receives his life-force from the inanimate, vegetative and animal —

so too in the inanimate, vegetative and animal themselves: although the root of all of them is from the World of Tohu, in Tohu, too, there are many levels, one above the other; and when they fell in the shattering of the vessels,

what was higher there fell lower, as is known from the analogy of a stone falling from the top of a wall, etc.; and as is written in the Or HaChaim on the matter of the lion and the ox, and as is explained elsewhere.

30And along these lines regarding the inanimate, vegetative and animal: the vegetative is a level lower than the level of the animal because its root in Tohu is higher than the root of the animal.

And therefore, in its fall downward in the shattering of the vessels, it could not be clothed in the level of the animal, only in the level below that, the level of the vegetative.

And therefore the animal is nourished and receives its life-force from the vegetative; and man, too, is nourished from both, yet it is specifically “bread [that] sustains man’s heart,” whereas meat, although it increases blood, does not satisfy as bread does.

And therefore the Grace after Meals is recited only over bread specifically. And that is because the root of the vegetative (and especially bread, and wheat, [which is] Daas, etc.)

is higher in Tohu than the root of the animal; and therefore, although it fell lower, nevertheless the quality of satisfying remained in it more than in the level [of the animal].

And therefore, when the two loaves and the two lambs are waved to their root, then the bread is on top, for there, in their root, they are higher.

Therefore, on the contrary, the ascent of the two lambs so high above is by means of the two loaves, whose light is higher

(and see what is written elsewhere on the matter of what Moshe our teacher, peace be upon him, said, “From where shall I have meat,” etc.). And the waving of the bread and the lambs was on the festival of Shavuos;

for after they have counted the forty-nine days of the Omer, the refinement of the animal soul and the drawing down of the forty-nine gates of Binah, then on the festival of Shavuos [comes] the revelation of the fiftieth gate, the drawing down of Keser, etc.; then the two lambs are waved, that is, to their root and source, to the level of kesavim.

31And this ascent of theirs is through the two loaves, for the reason mentioned above. That is, the two loaves correspond to the Written Torah and the Oral Torah,

that is, Chochmah Ila’ah (the higher Chochmah) and Chochmah Tata’ah (the lower Chochmah), “Chochmah at the beginning and Chochmah at the end.” The Written Torah is the twenty-two letters and is called chitah (wheat), and this is the first loaf, the level of the higher Chochmah; and the second loaf corresponds to the level of the lower Chochmah, the Oral Torah.

Now, the Oral Torah has an advantage, for in it is explained the revelation of the will that is in the mitzvah: how and what to do, the tzitzis and the tefillin (and see what is written elsewhere, in the explanation on the verse “Therefore say to the children of Israel”).

However, the Written Torah has what the Oral Torah does not, and that is the matter of the cantillation notes (ta’amim) — zarka, makaf, shofar, etc. — which are melodies.

And this is [the meaning of] “and his songs were a thousand and five”; and in the Oral Torah there is no explanation of this at all (and see what is written in the discourse beginning “The Torah commanded,” in Parshas Vezos HaBerachah). The point is that, by way of analogy, in intellectual comprehension there are two levels.

The first is what one can explain and convey of the concept in speech or in writing; and the second level is the essence of the concept and the depth of what is grasped, which one cannot explain in speech at all.

But even so, through a hint one can reveal something of the essence of the concept; and this is the matter of “for the wise, a hint.” And it will be understood further along the lines of what is written in Pri Etz Chaim

(Sha’ar 16, chapter 1), that the Arizal, of blessed memory, grasped during his sleep on Shabbos supernal secrets which eighty years would not suffice to expound.

That is because his grasp was in the mode of seeing the essence of Chochmah, and not in the mode of hearing and understanding; and therefore in a brief moment he could grasp and see what would need a long time to explain in speech, etc.

32And something like this, by way of analogy, is the matter of “for the wise, a hint”: it needs no preface of words and explanation; rather, through the hint one grasps the essence of the concept and its root.

And along these lines is the matter of the cantillation notes and melodies in the Written Torah, which are like hints, by way of analogy, through which a tiny fraction of the higher Chochmah is revealed: what cannot come and be revealed in the letters of the Torah,

that is, what cannot be revealed in speech. For what is drawn into speech and letters is only the outer dimension of the higher Chochmah, novlos chochmah (the “fallen fruit” of wisdom);

but the revelation from the inner dimension and essence of the higher Chochmah cannot be revealed in speech and letters, as in the story of the Arizal mentioned above, that eighty years of speech would not suffice, etc.; and this revelation is only through the cantillation notes and melodies, etc.

33And the root of this matter of the two loaves upon the two lambs is according to what was explained above: that Abba and Imma’s drawing nurture from the mazalos of Arich is a very high level, more exalted than their clothing of the Chesed and Gevurah of Arich Anpin;

for it is a drawing down from the level of Atik, which shines through the first three [Sefiros] of Arich Anpin in the mode of the mazalos that issue from Mocha Stima’ah (the hidden brain), etc.; and the level of Atik is the lowest level within the Emanator (and see what is written on this in the discourse beginning “On Yom Tov of Rosh HaShanah that falls on Shabbos”).

It follows that this is a revelation of a much higher level; and this is [why] the two loaves are above the two lambs. For the waving of the lambs is to the level of kesavim, that is, to Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes of Arich Anpin;

and the two loaves — “the Torah issues from Chochmah and Binah” — are waved to their root and source, the two mazalos that issue from Mocha Stima’ah; for lechem (bread) has the numerical value of mazala, from which is the root of the drawing down of bread (as is written in the Mikdash Melech on the explanation of the Zohar, Terumah, folios 153 [and] 155, and in the Ramaz there).

And one may further say, regarding the waving of the two loaves, according to what the Ramaz writes at the beginning of Parshas Korach on the explanation of “more desirable than gold, than fine gold,” etc.: that the root and source of the Torah is the Daas in which Chesed and Gevurah, the positive commandments and the prohibitive commandments, are concealed, etc.

And it can be said that the waving of the two loaves alludes to this: for wheat is Daas, and the two loaves are the positive commandments and the prohibitive commandments, etc.

And they are also the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, for the Oral Torah is in the mode of the level of the prohibitions, most of which are fences and safeguards, as is explained elsewhere.

34And this is [why] the two loaves are above the two lambs even after the ascent of the lambs to their root in Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes of Arich: for the level of Daas, the root and source of the Torah, is the Daas of Atik, as the Ramaz writes there, and it is far above Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes of Arich.

Also, according to what was explained above regarding kesev, that the beis alludes to Chochmah and Binah, and that Daas is not counted because Keser is counted — if so, it must be said that the drawing down is from the level of the outer dimension of Keser.

But the level of the Daas of Atik is a drawing down from the inner dimension of Keser, etc. (And see what is written elsewhere on the verse “And they shall return your bread by weight,” [as referring] to the level of the matkela (the scale); and see further on this in the explanation on the verse “Arm from among you,” etc.)

And this drawing down, too, comes through the two mazalos of Arich Anpin, from which Abba and Imma receive; for this is the drawing down that is above the order of the chain of descent and above clothing, etc., as is explained elsewhere; and see what is written above in the name of Mevo She’arim, Sha’ar 3, Part 2, end of chapter 5.

Now, because the Torah was drawn from a very high place, therefore it could descend below into physicality (as is explained elsewhere on the verse “Go forth” and in the discourse beginning “And I was with Him as a nursling”).

And therefore, too, it is specifically through the two loaves that the ascent and waving of the two lambs to their root and source come about, as mentioned above.

And this is [why] concerning the waving of the bread and the lambs it is stated: “He moves [them] forward and back, raises and lowers.” “Raises” is the elevation, and “lowers” is that from there it will be drawn and descend to be clothed below, etc.; and as mentioned above, in order for the drawing down below to come about, it is through being drawn specifically from the highest place, etc.: