אחרי ה׳ אלהיכם תלכו ואותו תיראו וגו׳

1“After Havayah your G‑d shall you walk, and Him shall you fear,” etc. The verse spells out six things in the service of G‑d: “you shall walk”; “you shall fear”;

“you shall keep”; “and to His voice you shall listen”; “and Him shall you serve”; “and to Him shall you cleave.” Now, what is written just before it? “For Havayah your G‑d is testing you, to know,” etc.

2To understand what “For [Havayah your G‑d] is testing,” etc., means: the matter is that the soul, before its descent into this world, stood in the higher world,

as it is written, “As Havayah lives, before Whom I stood”; and there it had a revelation of His G‑dliness, blessed be He. Afterwards it descended, in the concealment of the levels, into this lowly world, to be in the hiding of the Face and in remoteness of place from the light of G‑d. And the purpose of its descent is for the sake of the tests that come to a person,

which come from the hiding of the Face and the withdrawal of the life-force of the divine flow: in the withholding of the body’s health, or the withholding of money, in order to conceal the light and life-force of G‑d and His holiness, blessed be He, and to be a hindrance, from within and from without, to a person who comes to draw near to G‑d and to His service, blessed be He; for “the way of the wicked prospers.”

3This is [the meaning of] “And the sign and the wonder come, saying, ‘Let us go…,’” etc. That is to say, there is a revelation of the sign and the wonder there, and a raising of their horn, through a magnifying and an increase of life-force.

Therefore they say, “Our hand,” specifically, “is high,” etc., and they raise their nest high like the eagle. So a person needs extra strengthening to withstand the test, so as not to heed any hindrance, G‑d forbid.

And it is for this reason that the tests come to him: so that he will overcome them, so that through this he will come to the eminence and level of “to know,”

that is, that he will have the level of Daas (knowledge), comprehension and feeling of Him, blessed be He, in the manner of seeing and comprehending; for Daas is drawn from the level of sight,

as it is written, “You have been shown, to know,” which is the level of “From my flesh I behold”: actually “behold.” (And with this the verse “For [Havayah your G‑d] is testing you, to know,” etc., will be understood.)

(For the meaning of the verse “to know whether you love,” etc., is not that the Holy One, blessed be He, will know, etc. Does He, then, need a test in order to know? Is not everything revealed before Him, blessed be He, and He knows at the beginning what will be at the end, and what a person will choose? See the Midrash Rabbah, Parshas Vayera,

at the beginning of chapter 54; and the Ramban, in his commentary on the Chumash at the end of Parshas Vayera, explains that the test is so that a person will have the reward of a good deed, and not only the reward of a good heart. And see the Zohar, Vayera) (106b). So we must understand: if so, what is the meaning of “For [He] is testing, etc., to know,” etc.?

But according to what has been said, it is well resolved: the meaning of “to know” is that through this the level of Daas will be drawn into a person’s soul. That is, just as he feels his soul, as though he sees

that it is what gives life to the body, and without it the body has no existence and no life, etc., so will he feel that He, blessed be He, is the Life of life, as though he sees, etc.

4The reason the tests bring a person to Daas: although the tests have descended in the hiding of the Face, in order to conceal the life-force of G‑d and His holiness, blessed be He,

yet a G‑dly life-force is hidden within them, as in “Havayah said to him, ‘Curse,’” etc.; and as the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory: “[When] they were exiled to Babylon, the Shechinah (Divine Presence) was with them.” For it is [the Shechinah] that hides itself and enclothes itself in the prince of Babylon, so that he will be the ruler and Israel will be placed under him.

5Now, the G‑dly life-force that has descended lower and lower, in concealment and the hiding of the Face, “its foundation is in the mountains of holiness”: from a very high and exalted place, from the higher levels of holiness, as is known from the parable of the falling of a wall, etc.;

only, it fell and descended lower and lower, in the concealment of the levels. And when a person withstands the test and prevails against every hindrance, he then tears apart all the screens that hide and conceal the light and life-force of G‑d.

It follows that the light and life-force of G‑d emerge from concealment into revelation, and this revelation is drawn into his soul, drawing into it the level of Daas and the revelation of His G‑dliness, blessed be He.

It is like the “utterance of the mouth of Havayah” in food, which gives life to a person because its root is very lofty, etc., as is explained elsewhere.

(Except that this spark, hidden in the test, has a root higher and loftier than the spark in food, since it has fallen lower, etc., as is known from the matter of the face of the lion and the face of the ox, etc. And this is “After Havayah [your G‑d] shall you walk.” It is along the lines of what is written, “Draw me; after You we will run.”

That is: “after You,” precisely: the level of the back, which is as it is written, “And I will surely hide My face”; like a father who hides himself from his son so that the son will chase after him, and the son’s wisdom and his firm knowledge will be revealed, in that he understands that the hiding is not real, but only so that he will seek him with diligent searching, and then he will find him, and both of them will rejoice.

And this is “Draw me,” so as to be “after You we will run.” And through this, afterwards, “We will exult and rejoice in You”: from the level of back to back he will come to the level of face to face, etc. See what is written in Parshas Tetzaveh, in the discourse beginning “Remember what,” etc.; and see the Zohar, Part III, Vayikra, page 20, at the beginning of side b.)

However, for Daas to be revealed in a person: this is when the intellectual soul contemplates the greatness of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, each one according to

his own measure; and as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “If there is no understanding, there is no knowledge”: for through contemplation an expansion of Daas comes about, to magnify the love hidden in the heart, which is in concealment, as a single point.

And through the contemplation the love grows and increases, and emerges from concealment into revelation, etc. And the nature of this contemplation, which brings about the growth of this love, is explained in the verse “After Havayah your G‑d shall you walk.”

For the explanation of “after” and the explanation of “you shall walk” rest on the known saying, “Who in His goodness renews each day, continually, the work of Creation”: each day creation is renewed afresh, from nothing into something,

and just as the beginning of creation, in the six days of Creation, was from nothing into something, literally, so too now creation is renewed, something from nothing, literally, etc.

6To understand [the concept of] “something from nothing”: is it not written, “For everything is from You,” and “All before Him are considered as nothing,” etc., [meaning] that everything far below is as nothing and as naught, etc.? Why, then, is creation called by the name “something from nothing”? Is it not just the reverse?

But concerning this King David, peace be upon him, said, “For with You is the source of life; in Your light we see light.” The truth is that the source of life is with You, for everything is from You; nevertheless it is called “something from nothing,” because “in Your light we see light.”

That is: by mere light and radiance, as in the analogy of the sun’s radiance from the sun, which bears no comparison at all to its essence. So the chain of descent (hishtalshelus) and the coming into being of all the worlds are only the level of an illumination, and an illumination of an illumination, etc.

“In Your light”: these are the higher worlds; “we see light”: these are the lower worlds, which are an illumination of an illumination, etc. (See Iggeres HaKodesh, the section beginning “He and His life-forces.”)

Therefore he said “For with You,” and did not say “For You,” which would imply that You Yourself, as it were, are the one who is enclothed, etc.

But “For with You” means that the source of life is nullified and subordinate with You, since it is drawn from the level of radiance alone; for His Being and Essence, blessed be He, as it were, is not within the bounds of descent and enclothement at all.

7Therefore creation is called “something from nothing,” that is, from a level that is as nothing and naught and considered as nothing, for it is not from the level of His Essence and Being, blessed be He, at all,

but only the level of radiance and illumination from Him, blessed be He. This is the level and attribute of His Malchus (sovereignty), blessed be He, as it is written, “Your kingship is a kingship over all worlds”: that is, through its having arisen in His thought, blessed be He, “I will reign,” etc.;

for kingship is only the level of a name, which is an extension to others besides himself, so that his name is called king over them; and this is nothing but radiance, etc.

8And this is the meaning of “after Havayah”: the level of the back (achorayim). And from this is drawn “you shall walk,” which is the level of love, called by the name “walking,” as it is written, “going on and journeying toward the south.” For when a person contemplates and delves, with his intellect and understanding, from “the inner part of a man and a deep heart,” [into the fact] that the whole chain of descending worlds is nothing

but radiance, etc., he will naturally be drawn to the love of G‑d alone, as it is written, “Whom do I have in heaven? And besides You I desire nothing,” etc.

(See what is written in Parshas Va’eira on the explanation of “And Elokim spoke, etc.… I am Havayah”: through contemplating the greatness of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, and His extension into the created beings, which is the level of the Name Elokim, one will come from this to love Havayah, Whom no thought can grasp, etc.

And this is the meaning of “After Havayah shall you walk”: the level of the greatness of the Infinite One, blessed be He, and His extension into the created beings, is called “after Havayah,” the level of His Malchus, blessed be He; and from this the walking is drawn forth, to the love of G‑d alone, etc.)

And since there is a level of walking in this love, from level to level, for there are “many levels upon levels,” without limit, this love is great and wondrous, without end or limit: to delight in G‑d, truly, a wondrous delight without end, since in truth all the worlds are nothing

but radiance, etc. And it is written, “His splendor is over earth and heaven, and He has raised up a horn for His people,” etc., “for the children of Israel, the people near to Him”: for they are truly His near ones, since “His people is the portion of Havayah,” truly.

9Accordingly, how very great will be the soul’s joy in G‑d, and [its] “love with delights”! Of this it is said, “Serve Havayah with joy”: this is the joy of the soul that comprehends and contemplates G‑d, the Life

of life, blessed be He. And our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “One hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come,” because the life of the World to Come is nothing but a radiance from Him, blessed be He, etc.

This is not so with teshuvah (return) and good deeds, for the meaning of teshuvah is to return the soul and make it cleave to Him, blessed be He, the Source and Root of all.

And this is also what is written, “with joy and with gladness of heart, more than the abundance of everything”: that is, more than the World to Come, which is called “the day that is entirely long,” etc. (See what is written in Parshas Va’eira on the verse “Therefore say to the children of Israel,” and on the verse “And when she came before the king,” in Megillas Esther.)

102. “And Him shall you fear”: this is the level of “returning” (shov). For “you shall walk” is the level of “running” (ratzo), going on and journeying from level to level in love, etc.;

and the returning is to be “you shall fear”: the fear of shame, which is inner fear, before the greatness of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, Himself and in His glory, Whom no thought can grasp, and before Whom all lights grow dark, etc.

For there is fear and there is fear. Outer fear is before the spreading forth of the greatness of His sovereignty, blessed be He, like the awe of [a king of] flesh and blood because of the spreading forth of the greatness of his sovereignty over a multitude of people and the provinces of his kingdom, etc.

11And so it is written, “A thousand thousands serve Him,” etc. Along these lines they instituted the blessing of Yotzer Or, where this fear is stated and repeated: “Who forms ministering beings, and Whose ministers all stand,” etc.,

“and proclaim with fear,” etc.; “all of them as one respond with dread and say with fear,” etc.; “and the Ofanim and the holy Chayos, with a great noise,” etc.;

for from this Israel too receive this level of fear, as in the analogy of one who sees ministers bowing before the king, etc., as is explained elsewhere.

12Now, this fear comes before love: for through receiving this fear, the level of love spoken of in “With an everlasting love You have loved us,” etc., is drawn forth,

“and unite our hearts to love,” etc., “Who chooses His people Israel with love,” until in the Shema the supernal attribute of love is drawn forth, to fulfill “And you shall love Havayah your G‑d,” etc.

Of this level of fear and love it is said, “I have eaten My forest with My honey.” A forest is that in which there is every tree, and “acacia wood, standing”: these are the angels, “Seraphim stood.”

13And this is in the blessing of Yotzer Or, where the matter of the angels is stated: that they stand and proclaim with fear, and “the Ofanim, with a great noise,” etc.

And “My honey” is sweetness and delight: this is the “love with delights” that is drawn forth in the Shema, “And you shall love… with all your heart”: that even the inwardness of the heart, which is in concealment and hiddenness, the hidden love, shall also have “its inside inlaid with love” in a revealed way.

“And with all your soul”: all the powers of the soul, thought within thought, etc. “And with all your might”: without measure and without pause, for the love with delights has no end or limit, since one is to delight more than in “the abundance of everything,” as mentioned above.

(See what is written on the verse “I am asleep,” etc., regarding the explanation of “My dove.”) And from the level of this love he will come and reach the level of inner fear, the level of the nullification (bittul) of one’s very existence, truly; and this is the level of the bowings in the prayer of Shemoneh Esreh.

For the level of Yotzer Or is the level of the angels, and their fear and their bowing are on the level of the outer dimension (chitzoniyus); whereas the prayer of Shemoneh Esreh is the level of the bittul and the bowings of the souls, who are on the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus).

That is, to be in a state of the bittul of one’s very existence, truly, before the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, Himself and in His glory, Whom no thought [can grasp], etc.:

the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin). (See what is written about the bittul of existence in Shemoneh Esreh, on the verse “Yehudah, you,” etc., and on the verse “The heavens are My throne,” etc., “What house can you build for Me?” etc.,

and “the Holy One in heaven and on earth”: for before Him, blessed be He, there is neither the level of heaven nor the level of earth, since above and below are equal to Him, and physicality takes up no space before Him, blessed be He, exactly like spirituality [takes up none].

Therefore this level of bittul can be drawn even into physicality, for everything is only on the level of “In Your light we see light”: “In Your light” is the higher Gan Eden, and “we see light” is the lower Gan Eden, and all of them are nothing but light and radiance, etc., as mentioned above.)

143. “And His commandments shall you keep.” Now, concerning the mitzvos it is written, “which I command you today, upon your heart”: that is, in order to draw your heart to Him, blessed be He, “as water [mirrors] the face,” etc.;

for through the mitzvos, which are His will, blessed be He, “Who has sanctified us with His commandments,” which are drawn down below upon a person’s soul, the soul’s will will also be aroused toward Him, blessed be He, “as water [mirrors] the face.”

And this is “Do His will as your will, so that He will do your will as His will”: that is, that His will, blessed be He, which is the mitzvos, will be drawn below, so that the soul’s will will be drawn to Him, blessed be He.

And this is the meaning of “a mitzvah is a lamp”: that from the mitzvah a lamp and an illumination are drawn into the soul, which is the illumination of the will and of the love in the heart.

(See what is written about this on the verse “And it shall be for you as tzitzis”: how it is the mitzvos themselves that draw the level of supernal Chochmah, the level of bittul, to the souls of Israel as a whole, etc.; and נר (lamp) is numerically 250, because the 248 positive commandments are drawn through two levels, right and left, etc.; see there. And as is written in the Zohar, Terumah)

(166b), on the verse “For a mitzvah is a lamp,” etc. And see the Midrash Rabbah on Kedoshim, chapter 25: “‘After [Havayah your G‑d] shall you walk’: is it then possible for flesh and blood,” etc.,

“and to Him shall you cleave,” etc., until “but with planting first,” etc.; see there. And this is to draw into the land from the level of the Tree of Life.

(See the Zohar, Parshas Vayechi, 226b, regarding “On Pesach, concerning the grain; on Atzeres, concerning the fruit of the tree”; Kedoshim, 87a, at the end of the side; Balak, page 202; Pinchas, 253a. And see the Midrash Rabbah on Naso, section 10, [page] 236, [column] 3, and on Song of Songs, on the verse “His legs are pillars.”)

However, the mitzvos need guarding, that is, the lamp that is drawn from them, as in the matter of “not like Avraham, from whom Yishmael came forth,” etc. And our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “A transgression extinguishes a mitzvah”: that is, it extinguishes the lamp, and the fire of love sinks away;

but it does not extinguish the body of the mitzvah itself, G‑d forbid, so as to say that the mitzvos will not be remembered for him in the reckoning, G‑d forbid;

for one who has half merits and half sins is among those who inherit the World to Come; only, he is punished for his sins, but he does not lose his merits, G‑d forbid.

Rather, the intent is that it extinguishes the lamp and the illumination drawn from the mitzvah into the soul. Of this it is said, “And His commandments shall you keep,” so that it not come to be lost, G‑d forbid; and this is through “and to His voice you shall listen,” which is the voice of the Torah; for a transgression extinguishes a mitzvah but does not extinguish Torah.

15The reason is that, although the mitzvah is an illumination of the Supreme Will, blessed be He, nevertheless it has descended below into the soul and become limited in the form of a vessel;

and there is the level of “one opposite the other”: just as through the mitzvah one fulfills the Will, so through a transgression one transgresses the Will. Therefore a transgression extinguishes the illumination of the mitzvah.

But the Torah is “two thousand years,” etc.; “the Torah issues from Chochmah,” etc.; it is what lights the lamp of the mitzvah, as it is written, “For a mitzvah is a lamp and the Torah is light”: the Torah is the light for the lamp of the mitzvah.

(See the Ramaz at the beginning of Parshas Beha’aloscha, who explains [that this is] because the Torah is the Tree of Life, which is the level of Yesod of Abba, etc., and the kelipah has no power to rule there; whereas the mitzvah is the level of Malchus, where the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil is, and the external forces have a hold there. That is, the mitzvah is called a lamp

because it is the drawing down of the higher Chochmah through the 248 limbs, but “the Torah is light,” that is, the drawing down of the higher Chochmah itself, as it is above enclothement in limbs, etc. And this is what is mentioned here, that the Torah is “two thousand years,” etc.: “I will teach you Chochmah, I will teach you Binah,” the level of the Tree of Life, as mentioned above.

This will be understood further from what is written on the verse “And the number of the children of Israel shall be,” regarding “You have remembered the earth and made it yearn,” which refers to the mitzvos, through which the soul becomes yearning, “as water [mirrors] the face,” etc.;

but the Torah is the level of “until a spirit is poured upon us from on high,” which is above the level of water, which is the mitzvos, etc.; see there. And see the Raaya Mehemna, Parshas Tzav) (28b), on the matter of “and a transgression does not extinguish Torah,” and the Ramaz there.

For the source and root of the Torah is exceedingly high above, the Source and Root of all, from the level of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy that are drawn forth in the month of Elul,

for then is a time and season of favor above; and throughout the year the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are drawn forth through the Torah.

For the source of the Torah, the 613 commandments of the Torah and the 7 commandments of the Rabbis, numerically 620, are the 620 pillars of light, the sources of mercy and forgiveness; and there is “Who bears iniquity and transgression.”

Therefore a transgression does not extinguish Torah, since it is drawn from the level of “Who bears iniquity,” etc. (And this is “who grazes among the roses,” which are the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy; and they said in the Zohar, Shemos, page 20b, [that this refers] to those who study Torah, etc.

This will be understood from what is written elsewhere on the verse “And I pleaded”: that the Torah is the drawing down of an arousal from above from a level that an arousal from below does not reach. And this is the meaning of “And I pleaded”: a free gift, free without mitzvos; and also, “And I pleaded” is the level of “Gracious and merciful is Havayah,” which is the level of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, etc.; see there.

From all this it is clear how the drawing down of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy through the Torah applies. And see further what is written on Torah and mitzvos in the discourse beginning “When Israel put ‘we will do’ before ‘we will listen,’” for Shavuos.)

And this is “and to His voice you shall listen”: for every voice is a drawing down from above to below; so the Torah was drawn down from above, from a very high place, through the Tannaim and Amoraim, the masters

of the Mishnah and the Gemara. And this halachah, stated by the mouth of Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel, is the word of G‑d itself, as it is written, “And My words which I have put in your mouth”: My words, literally. And this is “and to His voice,” literally, “you shall listen”;

for whoever sits and studies, the Holy One, blessed be He, sits and studies opposite him; only, you are to listen, as in “‘Hear’: let your ears hear what you bring out from your mouth”: that is, “you” is the level of the Oral Torah, which is itself the word of G‑d speaking in your mouth.

16“And Him shall you serve”: “you shall serve” means to be on the level of a servant, as it is written, “Serve Havayah with joy.” For one must be in two modes, the level of a son and the level of a servant. The level of a son is the love and the joy of the soul, to be “you shall walk,” from level to level.

17And the level of a servant is to serve like a servant who serves his master, whose only intent is to serve his master and fulfill his will, even though he has no reason or understanding at all in his service,

and also does not know the quality and nature of the work, such that he would have desire and longing for the work itself; nevertheless he serves with a whole heart, because he accepts

upon himself the yoke of his master, to serve him with all his strength. So a person must accept upon himself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven and fulfill His commandments, blessed be He, because the King has so commanded him, etc. Even though

mitzvos require intention, and their intention is joy in the love of G‑d, “as water [mirrors] the face,” because in it and through it the Supreme Will is drawn down, “Who has sanctified us with His commandments,” nevertheless there must also be the level of service;

for although this service is the lowest level of the soul compared with the joy in the love of G‑d, nevertheless it has another advantage, by virtue of the submission and the bittul, etc.,

as is explained elsewhere. This is how Shmuel rebuked Shaul: “Is not obedience better than sacrifice?” etc. (See further what is written on the advantage of this level of service, the level of a servant, in Parshas Sh’lach, on the verse “And now, I pray, let it be great,” etc.)

Also, through this, “and to Him shall you cleave,” in the plural; for the soul has three levels, nefesh, ruach and neshamah, which are thought, speech and action.

And action is the level of a servant, the level of asiyah (action). A person must “include speech in speech and thought in thought,” etc. Now, the binding of thought is through the soul’s cleaving and its joy in the living G‑d;

but action, which is the last level and also needs to rise and be bound to G‑d, is bound only through the level of a servant, which is the level of asiyah.

And also, for one whose intellect and understanding cannot reach so far as to give birth from them to a powerful love on the level of “you shall walk,” let this be his service, a perfect service: to serve the service of a servant.

18And through this, “and to Him shall you cleave” (tidbakun) is written with an additional nun; for the final nun has a long leg, extended downward, to hint that the illumination and the drawing down of the revelation of His G‑dliness, blessed be He, will spread and be drawn

lower and lower, until even the level of asiyah (action) will be entirely holy to G‑d; for then the sitra achra (the other side) and the external forces will have no nurture at all, as it is written, “And I will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth,” etc.,

Zechariah, chapter 13. See what is written about the final nun on the verse “Take a count of the sons of Gershon,” etc.; and see the Zohar, Beshalach, page 49a, on “and to Him shall you cleave.”

19Summary of the discourse beginning “After Havayah your G‑d shall you walk”

20(1) The matter of “For Havayah is testing”: the tests come to a person so that he will overcome them, so that through this he will come to the eminence and level of “to know.”

But “if there is no understanding, there is no knowledge”: through contemplation an expansion of Daas comes about. That is, to contemplate how creation is something from nothing: the source of coming into being is from the level of radiance and illumination, which is as nothing and is called a “name.”

And this is “For with You is the source of life.” And it is called “after Havayah,” the level of the back; and from this is drawn “you shall walk,” “going on and journeying,” from level to level. This is the level of “running” (ratzo), which is drawn from the level of “after Havayah.”

21(2) And afterwards, “and Him shall you fear”: this is the level of “returning” (shov), which is drawn from the level of “Him” Himself, that is, before the greatness of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, Himself. See what is written in the discourse beginning “And you shall know this day.”

And this is the matter of Shemoneh Esreh. And there is outer fear, which is in Yotzer Or, “all of them stand,” etc., “with fear”; and afterwards, in the Shema, the level of love, “you shall walk”

(see what is written in the discourse beginning “Take a count of the sons of Gershon,” regarding the sons of Merari, the standing beams, and afterwards “And I will give you places to walk among those who stand,” and afterwards the higher fear); and afterwards “and Him shall you fear,” inner fear.

22(3) “And His commandments”: through the mitzvos, which are His will, blessed be He, the soul’s will is also aroused, as is explained in the discourse beginning

“When you go out,” regarding “On Your behalf my heart said, ‘Seek My face’”; and this is through “Your face, Havayah, I will seek.”

And this is “a mitzvah is a lamp.” See what is written about this on the verse “And it shall be for you as tzitzis.” But the lamp of the mitzvah mentioned above needs guarding from transgression, which extinguishes a mitzvah; and this is through “and to His voice you shall listen,” that is, Torah.

And “the Torah is light,” for the source of the Torah is from the level of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy; therefore there are thirteen rules (middos) by which the Torah is expounded. It preceded [the world] by two thousand years. See what is written in the discourse beginning “I have come into My garden,” and also “He preserves kindness for thousands,” mentioned above.

23(4) “And Him shall you serve”: to be on the level of a servant, without reason; of this it is said, “Is not obedience better than sacrifice?” And through this, “and to Him shall you cleave”: the binding of a person’s thought, speech and action with the thought, speech and action of the Holy One, blessed be He.