צו את בני ישראל ואמרת אליהם את קרבני…

1“Command the children of Israel and say to them: My offering, My bread for My fire-offerings,” etc. “And you shall say to them: This is the fire-offering that you shall offer,” etc.; “the one lamb you shall make in the morning,” etc.

[We need] to understand the doubling, “and you shall say” twice; and also the change of wording, for it is written “that you shall offer,” and it is written “the one lamb you shall make,” a term of making.

And also, “you shall offer” is in the plural, and “you shall make” is in the singular. The explanation is as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: wherever “command” is said, it applies immediately and for the generations (Bamidbar Rabbah, chapter 7).

And this is the double “saying.” “And you shall say to them” [is for] immediately, and this is the matter of the offerings that were offered while the Holy Temple stood; “and you shall say to them” means for the generations, for [the Sages] instituted prayer corresponding to the daily (tamid) offerings.

Now, it needs to be understood how prayer corresponds to the daily offerings, which are yearling lambs; prayer is a request for mercy, so how is it in place of the offering?

[We] also [need] to understand what is written regarding the offerings, “a pleasing fragrance” (rei’ach nicho’ach), a term of gratification (nachas ruach); and regarding Noach it is written, “And Havayah smelled the pleasing fragrance.”

What gratification is there from the fragrance of the offerings? (And see the Zohar, Parshas Noach, 65a.) But the explanation is this. For

it is known that the purpose of the soul’s descent into this world, to be enclothed in a body, in the animal soul, is a descent for the sake of an ascent. Now, before the world was created, there was He and His Name alone.

“His Name” (shemo) has the numerical value of ratzon (will), which is the source of the flow of influence and of the life-force of the created beings; because it arose in His simple will to be King, it is called “His Name.”

2And as in the saying, “Single One, Life of the worlds, King”: that He alone is single and unique, and “Life of the worlds” is no more than the level of “King,” etc.

And before the world was created there was He and His Name alone, for the level of His Malchus (sovereignty) was included in the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, Himself, and is called the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, which is the light and radiance.

And the light was included in the Luminary itself. And after the world was created there came about the spreading forth of the light and radiance, to give life to the created beings, from absolute nothing (ayin) to something (yesh), in the order of the chain of descending levels (hishtalshelus), by way of cause and effect, down to this physical world,

which is the physical “something,” a thing truly separate. (And see what is written about this in Shir HaShirim, in the discourse beginning “The voice of my beloved,” regarding the explanation of “Your kingship is a kingship over all worlds.”)

And this is a great descent relative to the light and radiance that had been included in the Infinite Light, blessed be He. And the purpose of the descent is for the sake of an ascent: that there be [a passage] from something to nothing, so that the something, too, be nullified and included in the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself.

And this is the principal ascent, of which it is said, “This Leviathan You formed to make sport (lesachek) with”: for from this there comes about laughter (sechok) and gladness above, through the nullification (bittul) of the something to nothing.

For coming into being from nothing to something is the matter of creation, as it is written, “And wisdom is found from nothing (me’ayin)”; and Chochmah (wisdom) is the first revelation of the chain of descending worlds.

Whereas coming to be from something to nothing is a new thing and a change of nature. (And see what is written in the explanation on the verse “In days to come, he will take root.”) And the main [source of] laughter and gladness is from change and novelty, as is done before kings and nobles: some change and novelty, for joy and laughter.

And likewise it is written, “You renew the face of the earth,” “Havayah will rejoice in His works.” (And see Sefer Shel Beinonim [Tanya], end of chapter 33. And it is called Leviathan because “Leviathan” is a term of joining, as in “and they shall join you and serve you,” in Parshas Korach) (18:3);

“who join themselves to Havayah to serve Him” (in Isaiah, chapter 56). And such is the matter of the joining and cleaving of the something to the nothing, through the nullification.

Now, below, the nullification of the something to nothing is the nullification of physicality to spirituality. But in truth, above, the level of spirituality, too, is a level of “something”; for “there is no blade of grass below that has no mazal (constellation),” etc.,

and the mazal receives from the guardians of the Ofanim, and the Ofanim receive from the holy Chayos of the Chariot, and the Chayos from the Serafim, etc.; so that the mazal is at the level of “something” relative to the Ofanim, and the Ofanim relative to the holy Chayos.

3And of this they said, “All the masters of song go out with song”: for song and melody are the level of joy and delight, which is the level of their going out of their sheath, which is the level of the vessels

of theirs that limit them; as is known, all the life-force drawn to the created beings is the level of lights and vessels. And through the song that the angels say, they go out of their level of vessels, to be included in the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, itself,

for there, “strength and gladness are in His place.” (And see what is written about the matter of song in the discourse beginning “Yaval, he was,” in Parshas Bereishis, and in the discourse beginning “A psalm, a song of the dedication of the House.”)

Now, the principal nullification (bittul) of something to nothing is in the act of the offerings, for the soul of the animals is from the level of “the face of an ox on the left.”

And through the offering it ascends and is included in its root, in the level of the “face of an ox” of the Chariot; and therefore the song was [sung] over the offering, as is written about this in the discourse beginning “And his brother’s name was Yuval.” And from there it ascends higher and higher, up to the summit

of the heights, through “the lion that consumes the offerings”: for just as below, its offering is through the kohen, the man of Chesed (kindness), so it arouses above the level of Chesed, “the lion that consumes the offerings,” and “higher than the high,” the level of supernal Chesed, the level of “and His right hand embraces me,” to be included in the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself.

4And such is the matter of prayer. For it is known that Michael, the great prince, offers the souls of Israel upon the altar.

And as in the saying, “and the fire-offerings of Israel and their prayer.” And below, in [their] enclothement in the physical body, this is the level of great love (ahavah rabbah) that comes from above in their prayer, to raise them up and to bind the soul of Israel with the living G‑d, and to cleave to the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, itself.

And this is [the meaning of] “My bread for My fire-offerings.” “For My fire-offerings” (le’ishai) means “for My fire”: those who burn and blaze toward Me, namely the Serafim, who are the level of a kindled blaze, a fire burning in their heart constantly with a great and wondrous yearning and with an intense love, like flashes of fire, to be nullified and included in the Infinite Light, blessed be He, because of their great comprehension,

for they are in the World of Beriah (Creation), which is above the World of Yetzirah (Formation) and [of] Asiyah (Action). (And see what is written in the discourse beginning “And I shall be sanctified in the midst of the children of Israel,” regarding “one band says ‘holy’ once,” and in the discourse beginning “I am black, yet comely.”) And the offering becomes for them the level of bread,

for “there is no blade of grass below,” etc., and the mazal receives from the guardians of the Ofanim, and the Ofanim from the holy Chayos of the Chariot, and the Chayos from the Serafim. Therefore, when the offering is raised up above, it ascends and is included up to the level of the Serafim, and becomes for them the level of bread.

Like the level of bread, which is digested in a person’s innards and becomes like the very flesh and blood of the person, until it becomes nourishment for him and adds strength and life-force to him.

So the offering is digested and included in the Chayos and Serafim, until it becomes nourishment for them and adds strength and life-force in the Serafim, to raise them up, and to be absorbed in the very body of the King

(and see what is written in Iggeres HaKodesh, at the end of the discourse beginning “He and His life-forces”; and see what is written in the explanation on the verse “For as the new heavens,” and in the discourse beginning “Thus says,” etc., “And I will give you places to walk among those who stand”):

52. But [we need] to understand why the daily (tamid) offering came from the lamb. The explanation is that although the life-force of the animals’ soul descends and is drawn from the level of the “face of an ox” of the Chariot, and it is to there that it ascends,

nevertheless G‑d chose lambs specifically. For the lamb has a voice of mercy, the attribute of Yaakov; and also, the lamb has wool on its skin, from which [come] most garments, as it is written, “and from the fleece of lambs he would be warmed.”

6And above, the skin is the matter of the firmament (rakia), from which are drawn forth the level of the combinations of letters, which are the level of hairs; of which our Sages, of blessed memory, said that the angel Sandalfon ties crowns for his Maker from the combinations of the letters of prayer. And “the matters are ancient,” and we need not elaborate.

However, the flesh, the fat, the blood, the sinews and the bones of the daily offering would all go up, entirely, upon the altar; but the skin with the wool was given to the kohen who offered it,

as it is written, “the skin of the burnt-offering that he offered, to the kohen,” etc. Because it cannot be included with the life-force of the animal soul

as the flesh, the fat, the blood, the bones and the sinews [can], therefore it is not burned with them; rather, all of it is given to the kohen who offers [it], just as it is, whole, with the wool.

7Now, the explanation of the matter of flesh, sinews and bones above, by way of analogy, will be understood from what is written in the books of the science of anatomy: that the formation of the bones derives from the brain, and the formation of the flesh is from the blood, whose dwelling-place is in the heart, [and] from which flesh is made. And as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “the white, from which [come] the bones,” etc.

Now, the heart is the place where the emotive attributes (middos), love and awe, etc., dwell; and they are the very level of the boiling of the blood in the physical heart: evil love, physical cravings, etc., and [the urge to] prevail, etc.

And so above: the camp of Michael, with intense love, and the camp of Gavriel, etc., are the very level of the flesh that is drawn from the blood in the heart

(and see what is written about this in the discourse beginning “When you kindle,” regarding “By your life, yours is greater than theirs,” and in the discourse beginning “And it shall be, from one new moon,” etc., regarding “all flesh shall come to bow down”). But the knowledge (daas) and comprehension with which they comprehend the greatness of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, each one according to his own measure

and according to his level, is the level of the bones, which come from the brain. (And see the Raaya Mehemna, Parshas Shoftim, 275a, on the matter of bones and flesh.)

Now, although the emotive attributes are according to the knowledge and comprehension, for “a man is praised according to his intellect,” the small according to his smallness and the great according to his greatness,

nevertheless, not all the knowledge and comprehension is enclothed in the emotive attributes; for the comprehension is of the greatness of the Infinite One, blessed be He, who, as is His Name, so is He: He has no end, etc.

8And “Your kingship is a kingship over all worlds”: above, without limit, and below, without end; He has no beginning and no end, etc.

And likewise, “and Your dominion is in every generation”: for in all worlds and in every generation, which are the levels of world and soul, and also the level of year, the radiance of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, is drawn forth; as it is written, “there is no place empty of Him” at all.

9If so, were all the intellectual insight enclothed in the emotive attributes (middos) of the heart, the emotive attributes, love and awe, etc., would not be able to contain and delimit the comprehension at all;

rather, they would be nullified out of their existence, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “He stretched out His little finger among them and burned them,” etc. Rather, the comprehension that is enclothed in the emotive attributes is the level of a contracted glimmer, a tiny bit of the comprehension in the brain, which is drawn to be enclothed

in the heart, the place of the emotive attributes; and these are the very level of the sinews and blood vessels that connect the bones with the flesh. As it is written, “to make known to the sons of man His mighty acts (gevuros)”: these are the restraints (gevuros) and the contractions (tzimtzumim), as though through thin sinews, by way of analogy.

(And as for these sinews, it can be said that this is the level of the forty-nine gates of Binah (understanding), which is the light of comprehension going out from the brain of one’s understanding and being drawn and spreading into the heart, as is written in the discourse beginning “The eyes of all.” Also along the lines of what was explained in the discourse beginning “For the matter is near to you,” regarding what is written, “and you shall choose life,” etc.,

“to love Havayah”: for the choice is in one’s intellect and the love is in the heart, and the choice precedes the love; and this is the level of “and you shall take it to your heart.” And this is the matter of the emotive attributes within the intellect, the forty-nine gates of Binah, from which it is drawn and spreads into the emotive attributes in the heart, to connect the heart with the brain. And in Zohar HaRakia)

(Bereishis, 51) he writes that the sinews and blood vessels are channels (tzinoros), which are a passageway for the inner light that is called will (ratzon): the light is ratzon, and the passageway, which is the vessel, is called tzinor, the letters of ratzon. And see in Parshas Vayechi (234b), on the verse “and I will tell you (ve’agidah lachem)”:

103. And now this matter will be understood also in prayer, which corresponds to the offerings. The contemplation of the greatness of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, how “all before Him are considered as truly nothing,” and there is no comparison to Him, not even like the proportion of a drop to the waters of the ocean, as mentioned above, is the level of the bones.

When the contemplation is at the level of knowledge (daas) that is firmly fixed, permanently and constantly, and not such that it passes and goes away after prayer, but with constancy and depth, from the depth of the heart, in absolute truth

(and this is like the matter of what is written elsewhere regarding “A maskil of Eisan,” that eisan is hard and strong, etc.), then from this knowledge a glimmer is drawn, by way of thin sinews, to the level of flesh, which is drawn from the level of the blood of the heart,

which is the source of the emotive attributes (middos) of the animal soul: evil love and physical cravings, and [the urge to] prevail and self-glorification, as mentioned above; to subdue them and to transform them to the holiness of

the G‑dly soul, which understands and contemplates the greatness of the Infinite One, blessed be He. And as it is written, “with all your heart (levavecha)”: with both your inclinations; for the evil inclination, too, whose dwelling is in the heart, in the left chamber, which is full of blood, will turn to the love of Him, may He be blessed. (And see the Zohar, Vayikra)

(24a), and the Raaya Mehemna, Parshas Tzav (33b), on the matter of “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”; and more on this in the Raaya Mehemna, end of Parshas Teitzei (281a), and in the Zohar, Parshas Acharei (78a).

And elsewhere, in the Zohar, Bereishis (26a), it explains that “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” is the supernal Shechinah and the lower Shechinah. And see what is written about this in the discourse beginning “The Song of Songs.”

And this matter is explained in the recital of the Shema: “Hear, O Israel,” a term of understanding: how Havayah our G‑d is truly One, and there is nothing else besides Him, “in the heavens above,” etc.;

for the life-force that is drawn into the heavens and the earth is only because Havayah our G‑d is Elokim, the level of tzimtzum (contraction), etc. (And as is written in the discourse beginning “These are the generations of Yitzchak.”) And like a drop to the waters of the ocean, etc.

And that drop of life-force is included and united with its Emanator Himself, in the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), which is above the chain of descent (hishtalshelus), before Whom spirituality and physicality are equal, “as darkness, so light”; from which it is “blessed” (baruch) and drawn down in the chain of descending levels, in the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin), the level of “the Name of the glory of His kingship,” so as to be cause and effect, spiritual and physical.

11And therefore, “You shall love Havayah your G‑d”: that Havayah Himself be your G‑d, so as to be included in the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, with yearning and thirst; and that he have no other desire and will at all apart from Him, may He be blessed.

As it is written, “Whom do I have in heaven? And besides You I desire nothing,” etc.; for in truth there is nothing else besides Him, and whom would one desire apart from Him?

12And the arousal of this love in a person’s heart is the level of the blood of the offering. For besides the flesh, sinews and bones of the offering, which they offered upon the altar, they also burned the fat and dashed the blood upon the altar.

And the dashing of the blood is the level of intense love, which is drawn from contemplation of the greatness of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, with self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) in the very “One,” with knowledge (daas) that is firmly fixed;

for this love, too, is the level of the boiling of the blood. (And see what is written on this matter in the discourse beginning “On the twenty-fifth of Kislev,” in Parshas Vayeshev, regarding “the blood of the daily offering precedes the trimming of two lamps,” etc.)

That is, because the knowledge and the contemplation itself, which is the level of bones, is the level of coolness, for the brain is water and moisture, etc.

But the love in the heart, the dwelling-place of the blood: there is the element of fire, and the thirst, etc. (And see what is written in the discourse beginning “And it shall be for you as tzitzis.”)

And this is because of contemplation that is firmly fixed, in absolute truth, “within a man, and a deep heart,” until he gives over his very soul in “One,” so that he desire no other desire and will apart from Him,

may He be blessed. And therefore the yearning and thirst grow great in the heart, in a revelation of love like actual flashes of fire, “with all your heart”: all his heart and all his desire for the love of G‑d, with a true expiry of the soul (kelos hanefesh).

And afterward, “And these words, which I command you today, shall be upon your heart”: this is the level of burning the fat and the fatness of the animal. And likewise in the physical person, “when he is hungry” to eat, [it is] through the boiling of the blood.

13And afterward, “to fill his soul when he is hungry,” he fills his will and desire; then the fat and fatness increase, because of the delight that he has fulfilled his desire and will.

And so too, by way of analogy, in [divine] service: after the yearning and thirst that a person will arouse in the love of “with all your heart,” this he should take to heart:

that “the words” are the words of Torah and the mitzvos, and they are the very ones “which I command you,” I Myself; and not in the level of “the Name of the glory of His kingship,” in the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin), alone, which is the level of a name and not the level of essence.

But over the mitzvos we say, “Who has sanctified us with His commandments,” which is separated from the bounds of the worlds, above the chain of descent (hishtalshelus), in the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin).

And this is [the meaning of] “Israel is holy to Havayah, the first of His harvest”: for the harvest is in the level of memalei kol almin, in the level of the order of the chain of descent: “there is no blade of grass below that has no mazal,” “for one higher than the high,” etc. (And see what is written close by on this verse.)

Whereas Israel are the level of “the first of His harvest,” and precede them, because they are in the level of “holy,” by virtue of “Who has sanctified us with His commandments.”

And in them the supernal delight, blessed be He, is drawn and enclothed. Although the mitzvos are also enclothed in physicality, [as in the orders of] Zeraim, Moed, etc., terumos and tithes, etc.,

of this it is said, “The precepts of Havayah are upright, gladdening the heart.” “Upright” means that they are not by way of the chain of descent of cause and effect, in the level of the hiding of the Face and the descent of the levels, which grows ever coarser and more corporeal by way and order of enclothement, so that from the wisdom and intellect of G‑dliness there comes to be human intellect.

But “the precepts of Havayah” are “upright”: the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, is drawn into them just as it is above. (And as is written elsewhere on the explanation of “to do what is upright in the eyes of Havayah your G‑d”; and see the Zohar, Parshas Vayikra, end of 15a.)

For they are His very wisdom and will, may He be blessed; and therefore they “gladden the heart” of man below, as the Infinite Light, blessed be He, is openly revealed.

And as it is written, “and for the upright of heart, joy.” And this is the joy that comes after the thirst of “You shall love,” to cleave to the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself,

when he takes to heart that this Torah, and the physical mitzvos that are before us, have their foundation in the supernal “mountains of holiness,” and are the level of “upright,” for the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself, is revealed in them below as above, so that there is no hiding of the Face there over the light of G‑d and His holiness.

14And with this he will “fill his soul when he is hungry,” and fulfill his desire and will, in engaging in and keeping the mitzvos, and Torah study, which is equal to them all; for they are what “I command you,” I Myself. And this is “today” specifically, the level of “today, to do them,”

for in the level of “today, to do them” there is drawn specifically from the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), which is above the bounds of the chain of descent (hishtalshelus); for “the doing is on high” (as is written in the Zohar, Parshas Behar, 108b, and in Parshas Vayera, 115a).

And the explanation of the matter: by way of the chain of descent of cause and effect alone, it would not have descended as far as the physical World of Asiyah (Action); for the coming into being of the world’s physicality and materiality did not come into being from spirituality, and spirituality does not produce physicality.

Rather, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “There is no blade of grass below that has no mazal above that strikes it and says to it, ‘Grow!’” For the growth of the earth’s vegetation, from the power of growth that is in the earth, is through the mazal.

But the coming into being of the earth’s vegetation and of the actual physical grass is not through the mazal at all; rather, it is the G‑dly power, the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself, the light that encompasses all worlds, before Whom spirituality and physicality are equal. And just as

He brought about and made spirituality from nothing to something, so He brought about and made the physical from absolute nothing to something. Therefore, in the Ten Utterances it is written, “And let them be for luminaries,” and it is written, “And G‑d made the two great luminaries.”

15And likewise, “Let there be a firmament,” and “G‑d made the firmament”; “Let the earth bring forth living creatures,” and “G‑d made the beasts of the earth.” For of the spiritual it is said “Let there be,”

and of the physical, “And He made”: for there was a separate making for the physical, since through the utterance by which the spiritual was created, the physical did not come into being. (And see what is written about this elsewhere, in the discourse beginning “Let them bring royal apparel,” and in Iggeres HaKodesh, the discourse beginning “He and His life-forces.”)

And therefore “the heart of man will rejoice,” “indeed with joy and singing,” when he performs one of G‑d’s mitzvos, which are enclothed specifically in physicality, which is the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), itself. And this is certainly a thing worthy to quench his thirst and yearning of “You shall love.”

164. But there is yet one more thing. The path that leads to the revelation of the G‑dly soul, which understands and contemplates the greatness of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, so that it “work salvations” “within a man and a deep heart,” to love G‑d “with all your heart,”

truly; and so that the desiring power of the animal soul, too, be transformed and also turn to the love of G‑d: this is the level of compassion (rachmanus), to arouse great mercy upon the spark of G‑dliness in one’s soul, which descended “from a lofty roof,” etc., to be enclothed in a body and an animal soul, to nourish and sustain [it] with the needs of the body, eating and drinking, etc.

17And for this [the Sages] instituted in Pesukei deZimra (the Verses of Praise) to say “And He, being merciful” twice. And also in the blessing of Yotzer we say, “In Your great mercy, have mercy on us.” And the meaning of “In Your mercy” is: because “every way of a man is right in his own eyes,” and it seems to him that such is the proper measure,

and that such is his obligation, to make use of the needs of the body, each man according to his standing, in the measure that a person measures out for himself: so much he needs, and he cannot do without it.

Indeed, this is the spirit of man, “since he, too, is flesh.” But in relation to the Holy One, blessed be He, it is a very great descent, without end or limit.

18And G‑d’s mercy is very abundant over this great descent. And therefore we ask for the abundant mercy of Heaven and say: although, according to our meager intellect, we do not feel the compassion,

nevertheless, “In Your great mercy, have mercy on us.” And great is the power of this compassion to arouse the love in the heart and the animal soul, through the understanding (binah) and knowledge (daas) of the G‑dly soul, which understands the greatness of G‑d.

And as in the saying, “Our Father, merciful Father, Who acts mercifully, please have mercy on us and put understanding into our hearts,” etc. (And see what is written in Shir HaShirim, in the discourse beginning “The voice of my beloved,” mentioned above, regarding matzah and maror, etc.; and in Parshas Bamidbar, at the end of the discourse beginning “And He spoke,” regarding “by their families, by their fathers’ house.”

And see what is written on the verse “As an eagle rouses,” etc.; and this is “And I bore you on eagles’ wings,” which is the level of the attribute of mercy, for through this specifically, “and I brought you to Me,” truly.)

And this is the matter of the daily offering coming from the lambs: for lambs have in them the level of compassion, and their voice is a voice of mercy.

And the compassion is as it is written, “like a ewe (rachel) that is dumb before her shearers.” And the matter of “her shearers” is this: the lamb has wool on its skin, and the skin is what separates between the flesh and the wool.

For from the flesh itself the hairs of the wool cannot grow, but only through the separation of the skin. And this will be understood above:

for the matter of hairs is the combinations of letters that are enclothed in [the Worlds of] Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, to be, from nothing, a “something” and a separate thing; and the coming into being of the level of the combinations of letters as separate worlds is through a dividing screen, the level of a firmament (rakia)

(and see what is written about this in Parshas Lech Lecha, in the discourse beginning “And the curtain shall divide,” and in the discourse beginning “Eliyahu opened,” in Parshas Vayera). And the shearers of the hairs are those that separate the level of the combinations of letters mentioned above from their root,

in which they are attached and united with G‑dliness itself, so that they be in the level of things truly separate, going after the life of the body and the animal soul alone; and they come to an end and are cut off from their root, until this physical world appears as a “something” and a truly separate thing, etc.

(And see what is written about this in the discourse beginning “And the light of the moon shall be,” in Parshas Tzav.) And because of this it is said, “And Rachel was barren”: that she does not give birth to the level of love and awe, etc.,

which are the level of the children, etc. Because “a ewe (rachel) is dumb before her shearers,” therefore she is the level of a barren woman who does not give birth. And for this [reason] they instituted in Tikkun Chatzos (the Midnight Rite) Tikkun Rachel, to arouse weeping and compassion.

And as it is written, “Rachel weeps,” etc. And afterward, Tikkun Leah: she is “a joyful mother of children,” which is the joy that comes after the birth of the love, when she becomes the mother of children; for then she will delight, etc.

19Now, the level of the lamb and of compassion is the level of Yaakov, who was a shepherd of Lavan’s flock. Moshe our teacher, peace be upon him, too, was a shepherd of Yisro’s flock. However, it is stated in the Zohar: Moshe is within, for he is the Faithful Shepherd (Raaya Mehemna), and Yaakov is without.

And the explanation is that the arousal of this compassion comes from the side of knowledge (daas), which is comprehension of the greatness of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, which, as is its name, so it is: it has no end, etc.,

and there is no comparison to Him, etc. Therefore, when he takes to heart that there his soul was included in its Emanator, blessed be He,

before its descent, and it has descended wondrously, lower and lower, he will arouse exceedingly great mercy in his heart over the greatness and enormity of the descent. Whereas when he has no knowledge, “every way of a man is right in his own eyes.”

20And as in the saying, “In Your great mercy,” etc., as above. Now, the drawing of knowledge (daas) into the souls of Israel is through Moshe, the Faithful Shepherd (Raaya Mehemna); for Moshe is the King’s groomsman (shushvina d’Malka), and through this it is drawn so that there be the level of Yaakov, the level of compassion.

And this is “Moshe within and Yaakov without.” (And see what is written on the verse “And these are the ordinances that you shall set before them,” etc.; see there. And on the verse “Your teeth are like a flock of ewes.” And see further on the matter of Moshe and Yaakov in the Zohar, Parshas Balak, 187b, and in Parshas Vayetzei, 152b.)

And this is the matter of what is said, “This is the fire-offering that you shall offer,” in the plural: for the offering of the lamb, the level of compassion, is a mitzvah for all Israel, only that it is offered through the kohen, Aharon, the Queen’s groomsman (shushvina d’Matronisa).

Whereas of “making” the lamb, which is the arousal and bringing into being of the level of compassion, to make [it] in one’s soul, it is written “you shall make,” in the singular; and this refers to Moshe our teacher, peace be upon him, himself,

for he would make and draw the knowledge into the souls of Israel, to make and arouse the compassion, so that one come to “You shall love Havayah with all your heart,” with a true expiry of the soul.

And this ascends in the level of “fragrance” (rei’ach); and afterward, nicho’ach, a term of descending a level (nechos darga), which is the drawing of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, into the combinations of the letters of prayer, “Who heals the sick,” etc., and “Who blesses the years,” etc.; these are the level of the hairs of the wool, drawn from the skin, so as not to be in the level of separateness.

And of this it was said that Sandalfon ties crowns for his Maker from the combinations of the letters of prayer, which becomes the level of delight and of an actual crown (keser). And this suffices for one who understands.

(And see what is written about this in the discourse beginning “The Chanukah lamp,” etc., “and the mezuzah on the right,” and in the discourse beginning “How beautiful are your steps in sandals”; and see further on the matter of the lamb in Parshas Emor, in the explanation on the verse “And the kohen shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits”):

21And one may further say regarding [the fact] that the daily offering came specifically from the lambs: there are two levels, tzaddikim and baalei teshuvah (those who return). And although our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “In the place where baalei teshuvah stand, perfect tzaddikim cannot stand,”

and this is because [they come] with greater strength, nevertheless at times we also find that the level of tzaddikim is higher, as in the saying, “With whom did He take counsel? With the souls of the tzaddikim”; and see the Gemara, end of chapter 5 of Berachos. And also, the tzaddik does not fear the drawing of nurture by the external forces.

22And along these lines it can be said [of] the level of the lamb relative to the bull: for the bull has more strength and might, and this is like the elevation of teshuvah (return), “with greater strength”; and therefore its libations, too, are more numerous. And see what is written about this in Parshas Shelach, at the end of the discourse beginning “The matter of the libations.”

But nevertheless, the advantage of the lamb, that it has wool on its skin, from which [come] garments, alludes to the mitzvos, which are called garments; and also, the Torah is drawn from the level of “and the hair of His head like pure wool”; therefore it alludes to the level of a tzaddik.

And this is “and lambs shall graze” (Isaiah 5:17), “lambs for your clothing” (Proverbs 27:26). And therefore, regarding the daily offering, it must be a lamb specifically: for teshuvah is only for the time being,

but in constancy there must be the level of a tzaddik; as is written at the end of the discourse beginning “Return, O Israel,” regarding “Take words with you,” and regarding “For with You is forgiveness, that You may be feared.”

Also, keves (lamb) can be said [to come] from the term [in] “and fill the earth and subdue it (vechivshuha),” and “and the land shall be subdued.” And so the tzaddik subdues the evil inclination.

And also the reverse: that he is subdued before the Holy One, blessed be He, and nullifies his will to Him, may He be blessed: “and the land shall be subdued before Havayah” (Numbers 32:22);

“And I was like a docile lamb” (Jeremiah 11). And see in Torah Ohr, in the discourse beginning “And Esther once again,” and in the discourse beginning “If you do not know,” regarding “And Rachel was of beautiful form.”

Also, he is of “those who are insulted but do not insult,” the level of “like a ewe that is dumb before her shearers.” And in the Gemara (chapter 2 of Chagigah, 13a),

on the verse “lambs (kevasim) for your clothing,” they said: “Matters that are the hidden things (kivshono) of the world shall be under your garment”; and Rashi explains: the secret of the world.

As in “the head in pickling brine (kivsha)” (Chullin 93b); “What have you to do with the hidden matters (kavshei) of the Merciful One?” (Berachos 10a); “From Me went forth the hidden matters (kevushin)” (Makkos 23b).

And the meaning of “the secret of the world” is this: for “the Torah is hidden and revealed, and the Holy One, blessed be He, is hidden and revealed.” Now, the level of Z’eir Anpin is called “revealed” relative to Atik Yomin;

and therefore the Chesed of Z’eir Anpin is called “the outer Chesed,” and the Chesed of Atik Yomin is called “the inner Chesed” (in the Idra Rabba, 133b). And the drawing forth from the level of Atik Yomin is called “the hidden matters of the Merciful One,” as in “Be silent! Thus it arose in thought,” as is written elsewhere.

Now, the level of the daily offering is to draw down great mercy from the level of Atika, “before Havayah,” above the Name Havayah, etc.

And this is “And Havayah will guide you always (tamid), and satisfy your soul with radiances (tzachtzachos),” as is written in the Zohar, Part I, Parshas Toldos, 141 (and see what is written in the discourse beginning “You have captured my heart”);

and therefore it came from the lambs specifically, for it is a term of concealment: to draw from the level of the hidden to the level of the revealed. And this is the level of tamid (constancy), the level of “I have not changed,” etc.

And also the ramp (kevesh) of the altar, and “you shall not ascend by steps”: this is the level of “walking modestly.” And this is “He went up the ramp and turned to the surrounding ledge (sovev),” the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kulla almin).

Also, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Why do the goats go in front and afterward the lambs (imrei)? As in the creation of the world: first darkness, and afterward light.” Thus the lambs are called “light.”

Now, the lower unity (yichuda tata’ah) is called “darkness” relative to the higher unity (yichuda ila’ah); and along these lines, even Z’eir Anpin of Atzilus is called so relative to Atika Kadisha: for the hairs of Z’eir Anpin are “black as a raven,” and those of Atika Kadisha are “like pure wool.”

It can also be said [that] imrei is along the lines of “You have exalted (he’emarta) Havayah today,” and Rashi explains (first chapter of Berachos, end of 6a) [that it is] a term of importance and praise. And see what is written on the verse “Who is like You among the mighty, Havayah,” that this praise refers to Atika Kadisha (in the Idra Rabba, 128a).

(Now, the firmament is the parsa (partition) that separates between Atzilus and Beriah. However, there are several levels of parsa, as is written elsewhere on the verse “And the curtain shall divide,” etc.

And the level of the lamb’s skin: since even after the separation of the firmament, hairs are drawn from it which are the level of wool, which is a lofty level, it therefore indicates that the separating firmament is like the curtain that separates between holy and holy.

Whereas with goats, from the hairs of the goats nurture is drawn to the external forces; if so, it indicates that the separating skin is lower in level, separating between holy and profane. And therefore it is said, “Your hair is like a flock of goats that streamed down,” etc.

And all the more so with the other animals, whose hairs are not fit for garments like wool. And if so, it is specifically in the lamb’s skin that the rectification of the parsa is alluded to, and [of] the letters drawn through the parsa, that they not be in the level of separateness, etc. And therefore the daily offering came specifically from the lambs.

And the root of this skin and firmament is the level of the “membrane of air” (kruma d’avira), etc., as is written elsewhere regarding [the fact] that “separating” is mentioned twice in the matter of “Let there be a firmament,” etc.):

23Summary. (1) The two times “and you shall say”: immediately and for the generations. “You shall offer,” “you shall make.” Before the world was created there was He and His Name alone, for the light was included in the Luminary itself.

And after the world was created there came about the spreading forth of the light; and this is a great descent relative to the light, as is written in the discourse beginning “Blow [the shofar] on the new moon.”

24And this is for the sake of an ascent: that the something be nullified to nothing. “This Leviathan You formed to make sport with.” And see what is written about this in the discourse beginning “These are the journeys,”

and in the discourse beginning “I [am Havayah]” of the section of tzitzis. And this is the matter of the song of the angels. And the principal nullification (bittul) of the something to nothing is in the act of the offerings; and therefore the song was over the offering.

And such is the matter of prayer. And one can say that this is why in prayer we first say Pesukei deZimra (the Verses of Praise) and the Song at the Sea, as is written in the discourse beginning “Then Moshe and the children of Israel sang.” The meaning of “My bread for My fire-offerings”:

for the level of the Serafim. (2) And as for the daily offering coming specifically from lambs, although the “face of an ox” is the head of all the offerings, in the passage “An ox, or a sheep, or a goat,” as is written in Midrash Rabbah there, chapter 27,

it is because the lamb has a voice of mercy; see what is written in the discourse beginning “And the kohen shall wave them.” And also, it has wool on its skin, to which the level of “and the hair of His head like pure wool” is likened.

(And it is written, “Though they be red like crimson, they shall be like wool”; see what is written in the discourse beginning “Give ear, O heavens.” Now, [on] olas tamid (the daily burnt-offering), the Arizal, of blessed memory, explained: olas has the letters of tola (crimson worm); see what is written in the discourse beginning “The statute of the Torah,” regarding “the worm (tola’as) Yaakov.”)

Now, the flesh, sinews and bones of the daily offering would all go up. The bones derive from the brain, and this is the level of Chochmah, Binah and Daas; and see what is written in the explanation on “And He spoke” of the Ten Commandments, that the bones are bound up with the bone of the skull, which covers the brain.

But within them there is also marrow (moach). And the flesh derives from the blood in the heart, and it is the dwelling of the emotive attributes (middos). And the sinews are what connect the wisdom with the emotive attributes, that is, the bones with the flesh.

And all this would go up entirely. (3) And so in prayer: the contemplation and the knowledge (daas) of how “all before Him is considered as nothing,” this is the level of bones.

(And see Midrash Rabbah, Parshas Emor, end of chapter 30, on the verse “All my bones shall say”: “the spine,” etc.; and in the Zohar, Part III) (Pinchas, 256a):

“the spinal cord, in which there are eighteen vertebrae,” etc., “corresponding to the eighteen blessings of prayer,” etc. And see what is written on this matter in the discourse beginning “He has not beheld iniquity in Yaakov.”

Also, in the Jerusalem Talmud, end of the first chapter of Berachos, [it says] that one must bow in the Shemoneh Esreh until all his vertebrae stand out, on account of “All my bones shall say.”

From all this the matter of the level of bones will be understood, in prayer that corresponds to the daily offering; and from this, sinews are drawn to the level of flesh, to transform the emotive attributes of the animal soul.

(And according to what is written in the Zohar on the explanation of “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh,” and in the Pardes, under the entry “Etzem” (bone), it can be said that bones are the level of the higher unity (yichuda ila’ah), for self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) in “One”; and the level of flesh is the lower unity (yichuda tata’ah), the level of “with all your soul.” And see what is written in the discourse beginning “And I will betroth you to Me,” regarding “my heart and my flesh sing out.”

And there must be a joining of the two levels, along the lines of “like a city that is joined together,” as was explained in the discourse beginning “These are the accounts of the Mishkan”; and this is through the connecting sinews; see what is written in the discourse beginning “And Yehoshua sent,” etc., “spies.” And see in the Pardes, the entry “Gad”: gimmel, which is Binah, gives drink to dalet, which is Malchus;

and this giving of drink is through the tzaddik, the level of the yud that is between gimmel and dalet) (see the Zohar, Part I, Vayechi, 234b); that is,

for gimmel is the general and collective expression (klalus) of Keser, Chochmah and Binah, from which there is drawn the flow of the nullification of the higher unity, which is the yud, so that from this there be the nullification of the something to nothing, etc.,

and so that there be “[He] Who rescues the poor from one stronger than he”; see Midrash Rabbah, Vayera (beginning of chapter 54), and the Zohar, Part III, Va’eschanan (267b), that it refers to the evil inclination. And the dashing of the blood is the level of intense love.

And afterward, “And these words, which I command you today”: this is the matter of burning the fat, the level of delight; for “the precepts of Havayah are upright, gladdening the heart.”

And this is “today, to do them”: “the doing is on high.” And see what is written on the meaning of “today” in the discourse beginning “On the day of Shemini Atzeres,” on the explanation of “This is the day that Havayah has made.” (4)

But the path that leads to the revelation of the G‑dly soul, so that there be “You shall love with all your heart” — see what is written in the discourse beginning “Havayah is for me among my helpers,” on the explanation of “with all your heart,” that it be absorbed, etc. — is the level of compassion

(and this is why we mention “In Your great mercy, have mercy on us” in the blessing “Who forms the luminaries”: so that there be the union of the sun and the moon, and that me’oros (luminaries) not be lacking. And see the Jerusalem Talmud, chapter 3 of Taanis, halachah 3; the Zohar, Part I, Bereishis) (19b, 46b),

Toldos (146a), the beginning of Parshas Vayishlach (166a), and in the commentary of the Ramaz there; but rather the level of “you shall lack nothing in it,” and like the matter of “with joy and with gladness of heart, from the abundance of everything.” That is, for the moon is the Congregation of Israel (Knesses Yisrael), as is written in the discourse beginning “In the third month after the going out of the children of Israel.”

There will be drawn into it the light of the sun, which is the “sun” of Havayah, so that the nullification of the higher unity, that “all before Him is considered as nothing,” be absorbed and grasped, like the nullification of the sun’s radiance within the sun. See what is written on the verse “for the sun has gazed upon me,”

and what is written in the discourse beginning “And I will make your windows (shimshosayich) of kadkod,” and in the discourse beginning “And it shall be, from one new moon,” regarding “a sun of righteousness, with healing,” etc. And see the Gemara, chapter 4 of Tamid (end of 31b), on the verse “two each day”: “corresponding to the day.”

And the commentator explains: opposite the sun. And so wrote Rabbi Ovadiah of Bartenura there, in the commentary on the Mishnah, and [so it is] in the Rambam (chapter 1 of Hilchos Temidin, law 11).

And this is (along the lines mentioned above, to draw down the revelation of the “sun” of Havayah; and all this is through the lamb, the level of mercy). And the compassion is as it is written, “like a ewe that is dumb before her shearers” (in Isaiah 53:7);

and see about this in the Zohar, Part II, Va’era (29b). And because of this, “And Rachel was barren.” And therefore one must arouse mercy, which is from the level of Yaakov.

And this is made and drawn from the level of Moshe, which is knowledge (daas), from which the mercy comes into being. And this is “the one lamb you shall make”: “you shall make,” literally.

(And like the matter of what is written, “Or let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; peace he shall make with Me”: that he actually makes the level of the supernal peace and the lower peace, as the Ramaz writes, Parshas Bamidbar)

(118a). And see what is written in Parshas Behar (110b) on the verse “and do good”: “and do,” literally; see there in the Ramaz. And what is written elsewhere on the verse “and you shall do them”: “as though you had made Me.”

And see in Me’orei Or, the letter kaf, section 64, on the matter of keves and kevasim (lamb and lambs). And see the Zohar, Part I, Vayetzei, end of 156b. And so too, “and the second lamb you shall make.”

And “you shall offer” is a mitzvah for all Israel (and see the Zohar, Part I, Chayei, 133a, and consider it carefully; and in Parshas Vayechi, 229b). And this is the “pleasing fragrance” of the offerings.

25One may further say regarding the lamb: although the ox has more strength, alluding to the level of “with greater strength,” nevertheless the lamb, which has wool on its skin, alludes to the level of a tzaddik, and the level of a tzaddik must be constant (tamid).

Also, keves (lamb) is a term [related to] “the hidden things (kivshono) of the world”: to draw from the level of the hidden to the level of the revealed. Imrei (lambs) is along the lines of “You have exalted (he’emarta) Havayah.” And the matter of the skin and the firmament, etc.